Waiting For You
Birds flee the rush of the train.
They leap skyward
from the roof of the record store,
circle the parking lot
once, twice, three times,
but the train’s still going,
hundreds of cars of who knows what
heading for who knows where.
A pedestrian in a thin black leather jacket
looks apprehensively at the sky,
headphones on, oblivious to the train.
The birds, tired of waiting,
move farther off
in a swirl
of black wings, forked tails.
After what feels like too long,
a bell signals the raising of the guard rails
on either side of the tracks.
The street is moving again.
The train recedes like a distant storm.
/ / /
21 February 2026
Charlottesvile VA
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