Stillness

I stopped to watch a train
passing under the bridge this morning,
a speeding promise that weighed
over a hundred and eighty tons
hurtling through the wet night
on its way to somewhere,
I watched the signal lights
reflected on the carriages
as the train passed them,
red one way, green the other,
flash, flash, flash
green then red, green then red,
no return, no return.

As the train disappeared down the track
I imagined myself on board, a passenger
sitting in the last seat in the last carriage,
all this behind me, on my way to a different place
to be a different person, and though the train was
travelling fast, I was perfectly still.

DF. 1-2-2021 1451