The View from The Train
As seen by Don Evans - March 5, 1999



Sitting on the train in a seat by myself, waiting for its departure
Watching as the people run to get aboard before the doors shut
Listening to a man laugh as he gets through the doors before they close
He laughs as he has won his first trial of the day

I look around at the people on the train and everyone sits alone
Some read the morning news, others take a nap, and some read a book
Some keep their eyes to the floor, others look out the window
Expressions of exhaustion, concern, and a few smiles on some

The train leaves from the country,
And I look out the window at the frost-covered meadow,
with an old barn in the distance
Soon the meadow becomes chain link fencing
And graffiti, some quite talented, covers brick projects

I sit and look at the boundaries marked on the walls
Wondering how young the artist and how wasted their talent
Wondering at what point they gave up the innocence of their youth
And traded the toys of a child for a pistol that barely fits their hand

I watch as the train takes on passengers

People push their way on board and stop briefly to look around
Watching as the new passengers justify whom they will sit with
Prejudices obvious as people walk past an empty seat to sit with another stranger
How do we make these choices and what are their reasons?

People sit down without a single hello, without even sharing a smile
Yet they chose that seat for a reason
Some decide not to sit at all, even if seats are available
Opting instead to stand

I look around at the new riders

There is the first example of lost youth
A young mother pushes aboard her infant son in a stroller
Her backpack full of schoolbooks as she heads to school
How will the child fare?
Will he someday become our President?
Or another name memorialized in spray paint?

An elderly woman gingerly sat at the first seat available
Her hands tremble as her body struggles to control its muscles
I wonder of her family, and where she is going this time of morning
Must she work? Perhaps she is going to visit family?
And I regret as I think how long ago I last spoke with my Grandmother

A well-dressed businessman works from his open briefcase
A golden band upon his left hand as he scribbles notes on a pad
I wonder if he has children and what kind of family man he is
Does he spend all his time with his nose in his work?
Does he find time for his wife and children?

I watch the overweight woman sitting by herself,
I watch as passenger after passenger walks past her
I look at her empty ring finger and wonder if she's ever known love?
Does she have friends or does life pass her by as though she doesn't exist?
I sit and sympathize with her in my mind knowing the cruelty of others

I watch as an attractive woman enters the train
She searches carefully for a seat
She also has an empty ring finger and I honestly wonder why
Is she just as lonely as the other woman?
Or is she too beautiful for just one man?
Who will help her when her hands tremble from age?

A man sits next to me and I notice his book
It's an inspirational book of Jesus
Guilt punches me in the stomach, as I realize the last time I remembered to even pray
How easily we forget to give thanks for the blessings we do have

Finally I've reached my destination
And I watch as everyone runs for the turnstiles,
Why are we all hurrying to the stiles?
And what it the prize of being first?

Why do I hurry to my little cube?
Why do I hurry just as fast to get home again?
Is life really just working to gain the most toys?
Does the one who dies with the most toys really win?
Are we really that bad of a society where we can't say hello to a stranger on a train?

Maybe that old cliché of stopping to smell the flowers is so true
As for myself I think when all is said and done we need to give thanks
for those people who have touched our lives, who have stopped to say
hello, who have made me laugh when I thought I couldn't, those who have
showed me love, and allowed me to love them.

"So tell that someone that you love, just what your thinking of...if tomorrow never comes"


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