GRIEF Poem: Omen, by Rebecca Vernak

The train sped by that night–
Crashing and clanking its wheels
Violently against the tracks, moving fast–
Only a snapshot of the graffiti on the cars
Was visible in the late summer darkness.
Since we were so close and unhinged,
We spoke of how it could derail right there–
Leading to our grisly destruction.

Now, in the midst of sorrow and questioning,
I think I should have paid more attention
To find a sort of legible foreshadowed message
In the hieroglyphics spray painted
Like some kind of omen.

That was the last night I saw you,
Before you sped off into the unknown.
The train only has one way to go—
With your destiny laid out on the tracks,
And a great plan to never come back,
You hitched a ride on one of those cars
Running towards the moving train to jump, to escape,
All the toil, the noise, the pain.

Author: poetryfest

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