Greenway

Down the old railway line
we can still hear the echoes
of the Chessie locomotives
charting their course
to the heart of it all:
off toward the station,
off to the yards they'd go.

But now the trains
don't travel this route anymore:
every stretch of this whole line
-steel, wood, & spikes -
was abandoned 15 years back.
All that remains are the ghosts,
the echoes of life that lived
on this route,
the minor memories of having
lived under its enchanting spells.

The droning of the whistle
was enough to rustle one
out of sleep back in those days.
Now those sounds of yore
are now silence, serving as
testimonial & living proof
of the decline & fall of a great dream.

What could have been:
15, 16 years before trains used to
make their solitary journey
into town...That was when
life was more carefree,
before the bean counters
decided enough was enough
& chose to shut this line down
for good. A trail has taken
its place now & we're thankful
that some traces of this line's history,
some of its memories have survived.
Yet listening to the faint echoes
of a locomotive whistle returning
to the forefront, I have to stop
& wonder sometimes:
Is this enough to keep life going,
to keep life living on in honor
of this defunct route?

On the greenway bikers & walkers
propel themselves to wherever they're going.
And the old telegraph lines
which still stand sing their lament
of times gone past.
The echoes of time remain strong,
refusing to be unheard.