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  • Ray Whitaker shared a letter in the Group logo of PoetryPoetry group 1 year, 3 months ago

    TOWARDS THE DISTANCE

    A steam engine train chugs
    down the tracks in the Alberta wilds
    great clouds of steam
    exit from the engine down at the side
    the whistle sounds, echoing off the gorge
    while snow falls off the tall pines.

    It is a black engine
    great silver coupling rods rotate the dark wheels
    a pilot cow catcher moves first on the front
    the locomotive turns with the track, towards Calgary
    into the wilderness around the bend
    away from Medicine Hat city.

    Chugging into the back of beyond
    staring out the window of the moving train
    on the landscape outside, there is a moose.
    It is as big as the annoying perplexity
    left upstairs at home
    on the dresser in the white framed photograph.

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    • The imagery of the black engine with its silver coupling rods and pilot cow catcher is very striking. The train’s journey into the wilderness creates a sense of adventure and possibility. Very captivating, very beautiful.

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