conductor
the train navigates morning
the water below the trestle
skin as black as burnt sugar
the river with ripples like raisins
train speaking in tongues
in rhythm, almost out of breath
the birds speak hearsay and happenstance
the wind, the craftsman
builds clouds, whistles spring
sprinkles rain off his paint brush
purple clouds
baby blue sky
soft wallpaper
I'm sorry I wasn't there when you died
train passengers look this way and that
the train tracks keep coming
sun watches trees
1983, the toy train under our Christmas tree
the earth has become small
sky so vast, moves so fast
I will wait to crumble
till I'm home
closer to dad's ashes
Mom's tears
the train breaks daylight
moon contemplates night
Edward Murray is the author of Stranger's Pilgrimage. He is an artist working in silk-screening, a film-based photographer, and poet. Edward has been published in Dionne's Story, two anthologies of poetry and prose for the awareness of violence against women, as well as many other publications, including most recently, The Brentwood Anthology. He is a member, and past president, of the Langston Hughes Poetry Society of Pittsburgh. He is a member of the Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange. Edward is also a member of the Photographic Section of The Academy of Science and Art of Pittsburgh, AgWorks, as well as a photographer contributor to Transformazium's log. His work can be seen on the cover of Vinyl Magazine, as well as many other publications, Jones Soda, and his work "Lost and Found" is included in The Art Lending Collection of The Braddock Carnegie Library and was featured at The University of Pittsburgh's International Housing Summit. He welcomes questions, comments, or exchanges of ideas by email: edleemu1@verizon.net.
