Plain but elegant, the switching tower belongs
where it stands – beside iron rails
someplace in New England.
But this sunset! The sky
is garish, unbelievable.

Night’s about to drop a dead weight
on these slopes – empty,
quiet, lush with grass.

Enough light remains
to make the track gleam
all along its visible length.

No whistle. No train. No crossing signal
to clang its imminence. Just this loud silence painted yellow
and orange and black.

~~~

Marjorie Power’s newest poetry collection, SUFFICIENT EMPTINESS, is forthcoming from Deerbrook Editions. A chapbook, REFUSES TO SUFFOCATE, appeared in 2019 from Blue Lyra Press. Journals and magazines which have taken her work recently include Southern Poetry Review, Mudfish, Commonweal and Main Street Rag. She can be found at www.marjoriepowerpoet.com.