Coast Starlight
Coast Starlight
I.
This train has two heads.
When it reaches its destination,
The head that has been following will lead
And the head that has been leading will follow.
But they will never look one another in the face.
II.
These hills are leonine,
Playful, but able,
In an instant, to turn on you.
They are shyer than the hills
The highway cuts through,
Shyer, but more dangerous.
III.
On the hills oaks grow,
Arms outstretched like Sufis.
Don’t be fooled.
They hoard their rings
While strafing the ground
Like good capitalists.
IV.
In the dining car
One of the men
Who checks tickets
Eats alone
While scrolling through his phone.
V.
On the army base
Somewhere over there
Mere boys prepare for a war
That will spell the end
Of the world as we know it.
A literate war.