The Station Master Nearly Always Runs the Trains on Time
David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Kendall Evans
In the morning’s roaring rain
The driving outrageous migraine pain
I disobeyed the Station Master’s instructions
Despite his threats of
Post-mortem punishments
And repercussions yet more dire
I never told how I unlocked the door
Opened only once before
Slipped out, wedged it open, fell into the sky
Angling for the cliffs
I flew upon the hot red wind
Above the dim-lit lands
The posse of deputies following on horseback
Falling away and awry far below, far behind
And you, were you the Station Master’s Agent?
When I bared my soul you just laughed
Or shouted, and said how vile
You found my appetites
But you know, we all must eat
To stay alive
The deputies showed up in the next town
Where I had stopped to eat
Had not yet had any time to sleep
Nor indulged those other appetites
So central to my nature;
But you took me in, safe from harm
Gave me shelter
In the cold warmth of your arms
A new storm, meanwhile, was gathering
Clouds closing in like cloned gray wolves
& driven nails
of the heaven’s pounding rain;
They say the Station Mater’s fiery
Red-shot eyes see everything
That Station Master’s a wily bastard,
I said as we talked late that night
By the light of an oil-burning lantern
In its rusting, wrought-iron frame;
You argued, Yet some say he is infinitely merciful
Despite his hard-ass ways.
I answered, Yes, but others name him merciless,
And words don’t really matter
Next morning, while you cooked breakfast inside
Somersaulting flapjacks
and sizzling fried sausages
I was smoking a hand rolled smoke on the porch
When the telegram arrived by stagecoach
Sacrifice your sole begotten daughter
It read, and confirmed my grim suspicions
Signed by the Station Master
I belt-bucked on two six guns
Smart guns, each one with its own computer
Grabbed up my sombrero
Said a couple of spells to quell
Some local superstitions
Ready for a two-fisted
Showdown, now that the chips were down
So I quickly formulated a two-part plan:
1) Rescue daughter
2) Escape to a place somewhere
Safely beyond the Station Masterfs jurisdiction.
Tell me why I should even care
If the rest of these words get written\
(end)
