If
Ever
Leafless
brambles cling for dear life to rusted metal cylinders
Groady
freight cars of an old train wait wearily in the foreground
Waiting
until once more their wheels turn
If
ever
And
a brown snow bank hides their wheels and spits muddy saltwater
Onto
the parking lot of this old movie gallery
Waiting
to melt
If
ever
There
is intrigue in their broken hearts
Their
bitter souls
Their
burnt out parts
That
is beyond what the average small-town twelve year old
Finds
interest in thinking of
But
at this moment
I
do not feel average
I
feel like I am standing on the edge of reason, now
If
ever
This
broken dream,
This
forgotten train
Sprawled
in front of me
Offering
all it has
And
now it is desperate
If
ever
To
become what it once was
Or
what it might be
Or
maybe
It
wants to disappear
To
be lost in all the creases of the universe
To
turn it’s wheels and hold it’s weight and roll away
If
ever
If
never it shall, perhaps it will come home to a homeless man
A
drunken one
Refuge
for his sorry spirit
Or
a playground to forgotten children
So
they may have some enjoyment out of these poor rusted bins
And
lost being may help the other find a flicker
A
flame
A
fire, if you will
Of
hope
Of
love
Of
beauty in their world
If
ever
If
ever, they shall
-Lilly Hallett
Lilly wrote this poem when
she was 12. She’s not much older now but she climbs rocks and has had
a part in a film.
