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No part of this poetry should be reproduced in any form without written consent from the author, Joe DiMino, who retains all rights: contact poet@light-cards.com

 “Never Forgotten”(by Joe DiMino)

The mountain quiet
For years;

(Its cavernous tunnel
Once anxiously awaiting
The Admiral’s
Thundering through)

Now—the engine
And its rattling fleet of cars
Long overdue;

Within the dark, no glaring light;

No whistle disturbing its bats—
Nor making frantic the territorial cats
Having castle of a stone-den;

Only wind careening in,
Evoking a wavering sound
As did the Old steamer
When coming-round;

Gone the click and clack—
The firmly spiked track
Musically sparking back,
Half buried
A ghost of their former pride
When the tunnel
Was steely alive—

The old steamer, alas,
A hundred years late;

Rubber and air
Had decided its fate,

These days only the wind
Glides freely through;
With bats and cats
For maintenance grew;
Forgotten by men, perhaps,
As civilizations we rise
And fall—
Yet, the countryside, forgets not,
In good time making
Repatriated natives
Of us all;

They say,
Jackson had
His own car;

Carried
Were royalty
From afar;

Colorful celebrities like
Belle Starr!

The James boys
Scheduled their own
Withdrawal:
Three men dead
After the shooting
And looting—
Admiral had his checkered past,
While going where
No pony or wagon
Could pass!—
And in its day
Nothing else moved
Nearly fast—
On the straightaway,
A formidable force
To challenge…

And now they sleep—

Good soldiers,

Blessed worriers,
Mighty story
They were tellers

With always
A welcoming lap—
Framed over the mantle
The Admiral’s photo
Nearby grandfather’s
Winding watch
And respectfully
Blackened-cap—
The pocket long gone;
The head in its coffin;
Train peacefully at rest;
Yet I fondly and often
Recall: his engineer’s smile—
Him seated staunch and tall;
In my heart forever,
The rattle and rasp—
The Admiral’s great roar—
Smoke for its mast—
And the whistle’s screaming—
No apology ever offered,
Would ever have been accepted—
(Dearly cherished)
Was its proud, though, somewhat
Horrific call!


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