i have lived in marysville now for 11 years. i am pretty sure i moved here when i was 23, that was a while ago, my memory fails me sometimes. anyway, i didn't come from a far off land, just the next town over lake stevens. i grew up for all intents and purposes in lake stevens (6th grade through somewhere in my early 20's). i have lived in 4 different places now and from all of them i can hear the train. the train has become a constant and i didn't realize just how much i liked it until just recently.
i was laying in bed the other night just listening. there is something safe and protective about the blanket of darkness. in the stillness of the night when the world around me is resting and calm i can hear the train. it starts as a low rumble far off in the distance. that rumble is like an old friend who has come to carry my day away so i can start fresh tomorrow. i wonder where it started its journey. i wish i could be a passenger to witness the landscape and beauty of our great earth. as i concentrate on the rumble growing louder as it nears i feel peaceful. this powerful machine rolling smoothly through every town, every field, through mountains, past lakes and alongside rivers such an incredible life a train has. as it nears i feel i can hear the swaying of the cars, i can for sure picture them in my head, that hypnotic rocking back and forth, a familiar lullaby that comes every night. the horn blasts as it nears my town, a reminder that the day is done it's time to close your eyes, say a prayer and dream. as the trains rolls through i add a package to it's cargo, sometimes a it's a care package for a loved one, or a box of fear that should never be opened again, but most of the time it is a gift. a gift for bringing comfort and peace to my chaotic and busy life. the rumble grows quieter as it leaves town and somedays i wish i could climb on and see where i end up, but most days i just say goodbye. i am once again wrapped in the stillness of night. my friend will come again tomorrow and i will be waiting for the familiar rumble, the hypnotic lullaby that only comes with the blanket of darkness.
1 comment:
That's one of the biggest things that I truly & sadly miss about living on the Snohomish Valley area - the sound of the train rumbling thru & its horn blaring, coming & going... You & the kids & your mom &/or friends should someday take attain trip to somewhere - as close as a nearby town, or down to Portland or up to Vanc. (be sure to get a letter from your ex as your take the kids over the border tho - I have a funny story of my friend that it happened to), or like me, to the mid-west to visit family in ND/MN - it's a whole new world & so relaxing for hours on end, experiencing the landscape & scenery - bein' a visitor but for only a few moments, even late @ night, with the horn blaring as those small intersections are crossed... You gain a Wylie new perspective & appreciation for it... ;o) <3
Post a Comment