Train Windows

This is one of the "writes" from my writing group. I plan to make a little book of it with watercolor pictures at some point!

Train Windows

I’ve seen them from train windows

that sudden flicker of shadow over glass

your own face wavering and losing form

for a moment, a fraction of a moment

it’s that quick

I’ve seen them from train windows

never from a car or a bus

clunky conveyances compared

to a train

and planes fly to high

I’ve seen them from train windows

but never when I’m looking

they know when you’re ready for them

and stay away

surprise is the whole point

Surprise, with that intake of breath

and your face dissolving in the glass

and you are in the train

and outside the train

you are the train

and the clack of the tracks

your bones shifting

and the squeal of the wheels

your definitions peeling away

And you’ve never been more here

Then they’re gone

and all you can say is

I’ve seen them from train windows

©Jennifer Armstrong March 2018