Without Railways : David C Johnson Poet

Without railways (US version)

There'd be no "lonesome whistle"
No "Runaway train"
No Robert Johnson's
“Love in vain"
No Grand Central Station
To sit down and weep
No “Morning-town train”
To lull you to sleep
No Poirot sleuthing
The Orient Express
No heroine tied up
Mouthing distress
As the engine looms
And the music swells
No Hogwarts train
No vanishing spells
No Thomas, no Edward
And no Fat Controller
No jam-packed commuters
Wearing their bowlers
No "Chattanooga Choo Choo"
No "Track Number 9"
No "Taking the A Train"
No Santa Fe Line
No "Brief Encounter"
No "Whitsun Weddings"
No Soul Train
Ridden by Otis Redding
No "Adlestrop" remembered
No Hi-Line park
No Midnight Special
Lighting the dark
No Casey Jones
No Homeward Bound
No blues harmonica
Steam train sounds
No painting by Turner
Of Rain, Steam, Speed
So I think it's conclusive
That all of us need
Railways.