Train Whistle
Snorting horses’ breath steams in early morning chill –
Bleary-eyed they awaken to the whistle of a train,
Thrusting through farmland pregnant with fields of grain,
Romancing purple prairie thistle with serenade so shrill.
Bleary-eyed they awaken to the whistle of a train,
Chugging along rusty tracks with sturdy iron will,
Romancing purple prairie thistle with serenade so shrill,
Rhythmically chanting a lugubrious refrain.
Chugging along rusty tracks with sturdy iron will,
Oblivious to the monotony of flat prairie terrain,
Rhythmically chanting a lugubrious refrain,
Swathed in semi-darkness while all is hushed and still.
Oblivious to the monotony of flat prairie terrain,
Disappearing into the distance accompanied by plaintive trill,
Swathed in semi-darkness while all is hushed and still,
In muted decrescendo it heads across the plain.
Fern G. Z. Carr is a former lawyer, teacher and SPCA president. She composes poetry in five languages and has been published by The Literary Translators’ Association of Canada. She has read her poetry in New York and has been published in the USA, Canada, Italy, Austrailia, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, India and Finland.
