A Train to Montreal

is a siren of noise
clattering on rails of steel
coaches shaking
passengers drifting in
moments of rest

a repetitious journey
across miles of pasture
trees clumped in shades of
branches
conversation stretching
through the corridors

as an attendant repeats
Montreal…five minutes
her French accent penetrating
my English background
as the train rolls on rolls on.

When we cross twilight’s barrier
everything is faceless--
then through the darkness
highway cars pounce
like flashlights in the night.

© Richard L. Provencher