Ode to Jimmie Rodgers

Out the train window
the desert in the fading light
rushes past as I rock and roll
to steel wheels hanging tight
to steel rails holding to wood ties
from trees long ago felled
and lumberjacks no more
carry axes or manhandle
whipsaws in forests
and darkness falls
the whistle blows
to warn forgetful men
and women
that when the stars shine bright
trains know no other way
than straight and fast
rocking and rolling
to long gone hillbillies
who once sang songs
that are
now but memories
to old men
staring into
the dark
desert night.

4/28/12