The Train

I was hungry that morning;
he began making something to eat,
but he really was not in the mood
for more dirty dishes.

And, all he could say was
that he had not slept very well, and
that I should just get out.

So I got out,
and outside,
the temperature had dropped below zero.

Though I could not help but look back,
my hand was to the plow;
it was better than a dream
and lasted just as long;

On that day he made something to eat,
I made up my mind.
It took no more than an instant;

I drank coffee instead,
made a few calls and
caught the next train.

And the cold heavy steel
against slick icy steel
was moving
faster and faster.

But I was inside,
warm and snug
rocking to the lullaby of a heartbeat,

moving away,
farther and farther.
To a destination where
I became someone new.

Margaret Taylor-Ulizio is a poet from New Jersey. Margaret’s poems have appeared in local anthologies. She has also published a chapter from a novel she is writing currently. The novel is based on a relative who died as a child in a mill town during the 1920s.