ray pool

LATE DEPARTURE

by ray pool

Monday 2nd April 2018 9:04 pm

His wife checks her watch - 11.05,

brings mid-morning coffee.

He will be controlling the through freight

from Shrewsbury on the miniature layout,

tiny electrical impulses bringing

the barn conversion to life.

Slumped heavily over a viaduct

he blocks the line to the tiny English

branchline station,

a train lopsided off the rails,

sheep and cows on their backs,

a scene from Lilliput.

A prairie tanker drifts around a curve

with a rake of four coaches

on a mid-summer tapestry.

He will climb aboard, lower a window,

breathe English air again

and leave this place forever.

🌷 (5)

◄ EASTER: A NEW START

ROSE KWARTZ ►

Comments

raypool

Wed 4th Apr 2018 22:27

Somehow I made a hash of the comment page; not old age creeping on but doubled up a bit !

Ray

raypool

Wed 4th Apr 2018 22:23

Thanks again for all your comments. I wasn't sure if this would appeal, as it is just imagination, but based on an actual person in my family!

Thanks you Wood for dropping in . Hazel for getting it completely.

Nicely expressed David. I just re-read the Betjeman poem, fabulous, sort of genteel. Number one in my book I've had since I was 16. You can always go back to him and be satisfied, a rare gift indeed.

Brian, nice point- it appeals to those with an OCD mindset.

Yes Col. There is an other -worldly aspect here, quite a nice way to go probably. I can satisfy you on the loco. The prairie tankers trundled around on local stopping trains as they were light and sturdy, carried water on their flanks and were quick off the mark and I suppose quite cheap to run. They were used on the GWR and all over Wales! Before you doze off, I photo'd a few in the sixties, and as they were numbered 61-- we called them tanner one -ers. I'll get my coat.

Thanks Mark. We are in good company with our memories. A good point about leaving, as it is implied and applied.

Thank you for liking Frances and Anya. I'm pleased you like my stuff!

Ray

Thank you Suki. Well spotted, like the last page of a book perhaps.

Mark, I am in good company with your memory and mine!
Good point about leaving, it's implied and applied.

M.C. Newberry

Wed 4th Apr 2018 16:53

Good title for a short but effective poem that allows the
reader to interpret the concept of "leaving" in this life.
PS - as a former train spotter, I'll let the writer enlarge about a "prairie tanker" if he's so minded.

suki spangles

Tue 3rd Apr 2018 22:46

Very poignant and affecting, particularly the last verse, Ray..

Suki

<Deleted User> (13762)

Tue 3rd Apr 2018 09:23

excellent poem Ray. I'm intrigued about the prairie tanker. Would that be one of those wild west railroad locos with the pointed cow catcher thing up front? It seems out of place on an English model railway setup but then again your man's in France slumped over a viaduct - dead, dying or sleeping. It all feels deliciously and slightly out of place if that makes any sense? If not please disregard and move on to the next comment! Toot-toot said Colin the Coal Wagon IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

<Deleted User> (18980)

Tue 3rd Apr 2018 09:03

He departed in accordance with the timetable doing what he probably enjoyed most.