Onibury Poem by Wild Bill Balding

I’m on my way to meet my lover,
but the level crossing stops me.
It knows where I’m going.
Puritan barriers block the way,
saying “this far and no farther”;
saucy red lights wink at me
and chortle “you lucky devil”;
urgent bells try to arbitrate
but only end up irritating,
reinforcing entrenched positions.
For an age I wait there,
lights flashing innuendo back and forth,
barriers settling down for a long siege,
bells screaming and still no-one listening.

The train seems to force a decision.
As it passes,
the lights stop winking and get all serious;
the bells are hushed,
outdone by the roar of the diesel;
the barriers raise grudgingly
in insolent salute,
forming an ironic guard of honour
as the car rattles under the arms,
over the metals,
and onward to where heaven touches earth
and fantasies become reality.