Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, AT THE VILLAGE DEPOT, by ELIZABETH WILCOX BEASLEY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

AT THE VILLAGE DEPOT, by                    
First Line: Why sure, we come down when the train pulls in
Last Line: When that fast train comes whistling down the line.
Subject(s): Railroad Stations


Why sure, we come down when the train pulls in.
I know the smart young brakies laugh at us,
And spring that joke that is as old as sin
Of counting all the population thus;
If they had lived here, as we did before,
And hauled their grain those fifty miles of trail; --
Had floundered through the mud and faced the roar
Of blizzards, getting food and clothes and mail; --
Perhaps, like us, they still would get a thrill
From seeing long trains chugging up the hill.

I dream, sometimes, of half-forgotten days --
Of wife and children waiting, -- hungry, cold --
For me to get home -- and I wake up tossing;
And then the pleasure for the dream repays --
I hear the night train whistle at the crossing!
Yes, I come down to see the train roll in; --
I s'pose I will, as long as I can walk.
I kinda like to see them fellers grin,
And hear the nonsense that they always talk;
And I still get a quiver up my spine
When that fast train comes whistling down the line.





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