River / Railroad

Phillip Finch

RIVER / RAILROAD

“how the river held
still every midnight”
—William Stafford
Living On The Plains
THE DARKNESS AROUND
US IS DEEP
____________

Down here off Hwy 50—
Where my shack retreat
Sits by the Cottonwood

Thoughts come to me—
How both the river and
The railroad hold still
_________

There’s this slow curved—
Relation between the
Rails and the old river

One goes slow and the—
Other goes fast and here
I am between them both

LIVING BY THE RIVER

Sometimes both the—
River and railroad flow
Together eastward

The BNSF big diesels—
Moving clippity-clip fast
The river so very slowly
_________

Other times the trains—
Move west with their cars
Full of West Coast stuff

But the Cottonwood—
Never moves backwards
It’s always moving, moving

BOTH WORLDS

During these jaunts—
When I unwind & relax
Back there in Kansas

Sometimes at midnight—
I realize that I’ve got 
The best of both worlds
________

I can’t keep up with the—
Race of the rails or the
River down to the Gulf

I’m caught here—
At night trying to keep
Up with my dreams