Hobo Engagement Poem by Christine K. Trease

Rolling railroad
Dressed in the west
Sprinting across the steel and ballast

Pounding of wheels
Clicking one's heels
Across the trailing meadow and grass

Sweet scenery lulls
Vagabondage calls
Driftwood shoes longing to carry.

The chink of the steel
Weakens the will
And the hobo can't be bound to tarry

Away in the night
A free bird in flight
Hitching a ride to exemption

A borrowed cigar
A poker game car
A derelict that needs no redemption