i witnessed a miracle today.
a couple thousand tons of metal and flesh
surging through the trees of my hometown
at the bottom of a hill upon the crest of which I was walking
i witnessed the miracle as I walked home from school, and my shoulders ache, and my feet were sweaty
i saw it slice through the lives of the thousands of residents of my small suburban town
as I had seen it do many times before
but today, it was silent
i watched as it glide across smooth silver rails, glinting in the sunlight, radiant even from so far away
and i had realized that i had never seen the train from this distance
far away, so deaf
close enough, a clear picture
i had found the sweet spot, after over a decade and a half of living in that little town, i had found the most glorious place to watch the trains come in from
and it felt so good that it had finally shut the hell up
and let me watch it pass quietly, in it’s regal glory
if a train slips away in the distance along a silver string, does it make a sound?