On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven into the rails at Promontory Summit in then-Utah Territory, with a silver hammer, commemorating the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. The line linked the eastern and western rail systems for the first time, making travel that had previously taken months and was fraught with peril into a trip that lasted a matter of days. The emergence of cross-country trains changed industry and often changed the fortunes of those who traveled.
Musicians have not overlooked the magic and romance of the rails, and we’ve put together a collection of train songs in our new playlist to start off this month’s Trains and Tracks theme, from Cat Stevens’s Peace Train to the Monkees’ Last Train to Clarksville and from the Doobie Brothers’ Long Train Runnin’ to Gladys Knight’s Midnight Train to Georgia.
POETRY PROMPT: Write a poem about a moment of “transcontinental” change, real or imagined—a golden spike or a silver hammer, what the rails connected.
Photo by Jan Ingamansen. Creative Commons license via Flickr.
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Richard Maxson says
Great playlist! Two more of my favorite railroad songs are Arlo Guthrie’s version of “City of New Orleans” and Bob Dylan’s “It Takes a Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Lot To Cry.” I tried to provide Spotify links, but Spot seems to be having problems with Chrome browser.
Here is my offering with a train in it:
Tracks
…the winding of string that leads us—
the first end, buried deep in the wound
and circling years, is what we seek,
the true beginning, before gathering
shaped us, and our tale evaporated
in the telling of it, a speedy train on a track,
the wind chasing a briefly opened door
as it bends the wild grasses; or water moving
in the sun as it gathers the light into color.
Begin with the heat on your back, the sun
bleaches the sand white you thought,
dry and fine for the crabs pulling
at netting fragments. Mother warned
it was too soft, too hot except for the caucus
of claws dragging the flotsam net strings
into the hole, into the small darkness floating
in the white sand, where, you thought to go—
Follow the string dragging behind them,
as they disappear deep into the dark wound.
You are a child then, all things are possible;
you don’t think about…
Richard Maxson says
Dylan’s Title is It Takes a Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train To Cry. Too big a hurry.
Maureen Doallas says
I used just song titles (find them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_train_songs):
All Aboard
I’m Alabama Bound
I Want to Be in Dixie
At the Sound of the Signal Bell
Slow Train Through Georgia
Slow Train to Paradise
Slow Train to Nowhere
Smoke Along the Track
The Train I’m On
Train Kept Rolling on
All the Way Home
900 Miles
Baby Likes to Rock It
Between Trains
At the Station
Last Lonely Train
Midnight Special
Number 9 Train
Fast Movin’ Train
Engine of Love
On a Cold Winter’s Night
You Never Even Called Me By My Name
Catch Me a Train
Sad Old Train
I Want to Be in Dixie
L.L. Barkat says
This made me laugh, Maureen:
“Baby Likes to Rock It
Between Trains
At the Station”
🙂
Richard Maxson says
Maureen, I love Slow, Slow, Slow, Smoke – pulling out of the station. Great imagination!
Chad Wilson says
I just happen to work at a company that makes parts for trains, so this is a topic that is near and dear to me.
Iron Thunder
by Chad Wilson
iron thunder
billowing clouds
connecting coastlines
through the wilds
over rivers
through valleys deep
in a land
that few had seen
men laid rails
among the buffalo
over winding mountains
through drifting snow
with sweat and muscle
and blood and tears
men would challenge
and defeat their fears
this iron thunder
this monstrous creation
connecting the land
and forming a nation
L. L. Barkat says
Love that, Chad.
And your poem feels like the rhythm of a train, so all that working for a train company seems to have worked itself deep down into your words.
(How did you find us? I’m curious 🙂 )
Chad Wilson says
Community “Poets of G+” on Google+, someone posted a link to your site and the subject of trains was just too tempting to resist.
L. L. Barkat says
Ah! Well, we’re glad you stopped in. We are the better for it, having enjoyed your poem 🙂
Richard Maxson says
Welcome Chad. Thanks for sharing this poem and your pride in the history of trains in building America.
Monica Sharman says
Chad, I saw this morning that your poem has been featured. Congrats! https://www.tweetspeakpoetry.com/2014/10/13/photo-play-trains-tracks-prompt/
SimplyDarlene says
“On a warm summer’s eve
On a train bound for nowhere
I met up with the gambler
We were both too tired to sleep”
hold ’em
fold ’em
walk away
run
for a housewife
this speaks
of
laundry
for a cynic
this discards
all
love
for me
this croons
my
history
(” – ” lyrics from The Gambler, of course.)
SimplyDarlene says
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kennyrogers/thegambler.html
Richard Maxson says
Darlene, so when you walk away from folding is when you write poetry and that’s a good thing!
SimplyDarlene says
🙂
Marcus Goodyear says
I went for a transformational change, sans trains, but inspired by my association of trains with all things wonderfully western.
Tuff Canyon, Big Bend
I’m no early bird in this world of worms
after hard rain through tuff canyons
carves volcanic ash and caterpillars don’t know
where the ocotillo grows. Water lies and leads
into shadows the sun will turn to dust, far
from fat, lucky cousins on bushes above.
“Who will eat them?” asks my son, turning
the stark scene into a feast. The curved death
of each worm its own cocoon, preparing
for a dark flight in the crow’s gullet, a flight.
L. L. Barkat says
Nice poem. I especially like “carves volcanic ash and caterpillars don’t know/where the ocotillo grows.”
Am curious if the first “flight” is supposed to be “fight”? (Or maybe vice versa?). Maybe not. But I thought to ask.
.
Marcus Goodyear says
LL, I thought a lot about that final “flight.” It was an intentional repetition. Perhaps heavy handed, but nonetheless intended.
Thanks for commenting.
L. L. Barkat says
Ah. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but that I know people tend to mistype in comment boxes. So I wanted to be sure I knew whether to like it as is or not. I don’t see it as heavy handed. Though I admit it’s also interesting to consider it a “fight.” 🙂
Poetry. At least we are not discussing a comma 😉
SimplyDarlene says
sir march – so many unexpected turns in this. iLike it.
SimplyDarlene says
sir MACUS… marcus. marcus.
not march. gah!
Marcus Goodyear says
I’ll take sir march. I kind of like that, actually.
Robbie Pruitt says
Transcontinental
We were over
No longer
Could we set sail
We split rails
On parallels
We kept distance
Covered time
Joined expanses
In silver lines
© October 12, 2014, Robbie Pruitt
Brad says
This is great thanks. Turn of the century African American gospel groups loved this theme. Check out songs like “heaven bound train”
“Freight train blues” by Brownie Magee is also a favorite of mine
lynn__ says
My oldest son is a railroad engineer so he would love this prompt! I’d like to share a “train of thought” poem…follow link to also see image that inspired it 🙂
http://madhatterpoetry.com/2014/09/23/capturing-inspiration/
gassingon says
Trains and tracks
forever take me back
to you and how we used to be
when we were young foolish and free
and able to see the possibility
of a life outside the life we knew
A train ride
away from this town
for ever on the wild side
the tracks and further down
and around the bend
where our love would mend
whatever was broken
cruel words spoken
hearts forever broken
no token or words unspoken
on the tracks and the train
from the start we were lovers
forever in motion
two hearts, no lotion could mend,
forever on our journey’s end
sending us down to the tracks
to view the train
the runaway train…