Derailment Poem by Billy Karlek

My mind wanders like a train
stopping from time to time
but then it hits you like falling rain
and the train stops on a dime

in the cold darkness of night
my light searches the winding track
I see a ghost of you pass right
your warmth and rest I lack

there's only ever one problem here
I do not know who you are
like the train, I wander in fear
but stopped by empty boxcars

the promises they give me
making noise in the process
looking all clean and shiny
but empty nevertheless

now I don't even stop
I just let them pass on by
too noisy to hear the pin drop
or my aching, groaning cry

my wheels are spinning on the track
it doesn't even matter now
the smoke stops leaving from my stack
choking, as I cough and growl

my wheels stop turning round and round
my engine fire not burning bright
but as I look out on the ground
I see scrapes in the moonlight

a derailment not long ago
I see your engine in the ditch
I hear your crying long and low
they sound of my same pitch

you're torn up just like me
your fire has long gone out
I blow my whistle, wait and see
you give your whistle a quiet shout

it's then my fire comes back to power
my wheels start turning back
I will remember this fateful hour
as I barrel down the track

my wheels fall off and turn to wings
who knew to win you have to fail
not every train will stop for kings
but it's only for you that I derail