Facing Backward
Gail Peterson
Trees streaming by
in the light that made morning
do not distract me, face in a book as
the train trundles past peeling gray houses,
their backyards, poor kids, pants on the line.
For years, Ive taken in vanishing
dioramaseven the best become less
enthralling than their description.
I know the land opens up
through greens and a yellow that brightens
the pale edge of day
the rough down of grass
on oak-stubbled hills
trembling steel
announcing a bridge
a tunnel that roars us
through granite
trains of cloud steaming along
the horizon. Without looking up I can see it all
heading to where Ive been.
New passengers board who need my seat.
When I shift across, the view pulls me in
the backs of everything rushing past. Like pages
turned too fast to read, instant history
that cant be reclaimed. I hope the boy by the tracks
waves to me, so I can wave back.
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