Let every boarding be a Hitchcock thrill,
a mystery express from east to west,
a silver bullet train that kills the still,
revive a broken, stagnant land distressed.
And high-speed lines, like healthy arteries,
send lifeblood to the countrysides and towns,
and trains of populated coaches be
America's corpuscles world-renowned.
Reactionaries want no part, it seems,
and therein lies bemusing irony:
When once rail moved a country and its dreams,
it now could be its high-tech destiny.
What fuels romance at every turn? The trains,
that also are the dreams of bright geek brains.
Commentary: Obama should set as his goal his legacy to include the USHSRS (United States High-Speed Rail System), in the way the Interstate Highway System is in the legacy of Eisenhower, the moon landing of Kennedy.
photo from US HIGH SPEED RAIL ASSOCIATION
placed in imaginary garden with real toads Open Link Monday and in dVerse Poets Pub OpenLinkNight
send lifeblood to the countrysides and towns
ReplyDeleteInteresting concept - but does it bleed the central heart, I wonder?
It all cycles back. But that would be in another vein. :)
ReplyDeleteThere is something oddly romantic about a train - it's like a world within a world which offers new possibilities perhaps: adventure, strange meetings, renewal. Your sonnet captures that at break-neck speed.
ReplyDeleteGreat sonnet. I have often wondered why we don't have bullet trains.
ReplyDeleteI love this, especially the final lines, Philip!
ReplyDeletehave been in love with trains since i was a kid...the tracks used to run out back...i wish we had a reliable passenger rail system...i guess there is amtrak but...nicely done to form
ReplyDeletea Hitchock thrill - I like that! The rhyme and meter are wonderful.
ReplyDeletei like the concept of an old Hitchcock thriller on a modern train
ReplyDeleteI love the metaphor of the circulatory system.
ReplyDelete