The RetroLounge Daily Poem Thread (Sat 1/19/2008)

Outside Fountain City, Wisconsin

The empty freight train rumbles beneath cloud-afflicted skies.
Empty boxcars with open doors signify hope to the wandering.
Isn’t it true, that you never really tried?

Beyond the road, redwing blackbirds take flight filling the afternoon air
With inkblots of memory, noiseless yet insistent on being heard.
The empty freight train rumbles beneath cloud-afflicted skies.

The tavern near the road is shuttered now for the winter months,
And the cabins beside it are empty like boxcars returning from slaughter.
Isn’t it true, that you never really tried?

And the autos have all moved to the new highway and the exit ramp
Was never built, but still you found a way to leave without saying goodbye.
The empty freight train rumbles beneath cloud-afflicted skies.

Filthy children sprint across the dusty field to the weed-choked tracks
And stand as close as they can as the train shakes away the years.
Isn’t it true, that you never really tried?

The blackbirds ignore the children and autos and memory and hope.
Isn’t it true, that you never really tried,
That memories deceive and the hopeful mind wanders?
The empty freight train rumbles beneath cloud-afflicted skies.

Paul Scot August

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Paul Scot August was born on the North side of Chicago in 1961 and moved to the east side of Milwaukee in 1986 to pursue his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. He worked as an upholstery salesman, a roofer, a dishwasher, a mailroom sorter, an automobile mechanic, a daycare worker, a pizza delivery driver, and a software developer before completing his MA in Creative Writing from UWM in 1995. He is a former poetry editor of the Cream City Review and a former writer and section editor of North Western Lines magazine. He is now the owner of Xenith Booksellers, LLC, an independent bookstore on the west side of Milwaukee. He currently lives in the Milwaukee area with his two children and their Black Lab, Max.

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:hi:

RL

Nice.

When did you write this one?

I was on a poem spurt and was writing a few new ones a week at the time...

:hi:

RL

:applause: hell of a poem -- lovely!

:blush:

RL

Makes me want to pull out my Neil Young recordings... (and that's the highest compliment)

:hug:

:hug:

RL

and as if on cue, a train whistle...

:hug:

I only ride them.

:9

RL

as long as I can be the conductor...

:evilgrin:

you can conduct all you want...

:evilgrin:

RL

"All aboard!!"

:evilgrin:

I like the "formal" structural frame around "informal" imagery.

....and I'm sorry for your loss.

:hi:

RL

I am knocked out!

Hey, I have a question for you, I'm west of Chicago (not too far from Milwaukee) and am moving in May. I have a LOT of books that I have gotten from all over: old ones we won't read again (kids books that they've outgrown, Dick Francis murder mysteries that just aren't fresh to read twice, Oprah's book club books etc.), some books from my 93 year old grandmother that I couldn't bear to throw out when she moved into a nursing home (romance novels - eek!), some sci fi from my Dad's place when he downsized (Wes Hicks and the like). There's probably a couple hundred in all.

If I could find a way to get them to you, would you want a few more boxes of books for your place? PM me if you're interested otherwise I guess I'll find a way to donate them somewhere (hospital, jail - any location suggestions appreciated!)

I sent you a PM.

:hi:

RL

I'll get them together and get a road trip organized. How many boxes of books can fit in a VW Beetle....? I've been way too shy to come to any of the DU meet-ups so meeting you will be like dipping my toes into the water. And bonus! I get to see your bookshop. Yay!

And a kick to the top for your elegant poem (I'm accountable for at least 7 or 8 of your thread count views as I keep coming back to it :blush: )

Oh, boy, sweetie...

This is so sad, so poignant, so beautiful...

The imagery is gorgeous!

I'm telling you, you are one fantastic poet...

One sweet day, I hope to be as good...

I'm bookmarking this one, for sure...

Thank you!

:hug:

:blush:

RL

"Beyond the road, redwing blackbirds take flight filling the afternoon air
With inkblots of memory, noiseless yet insistent on being heard."
more, please... much, much more!

:applause:

:hi:

:hi:

RL