The Train

The pulsating hum permeates the house.
The whistle screams piercing the night.
The clanking of the tracks adds a rhythmic sound.

The wheels spinning fast as they can.
The glint of steel shine like a star.
The engine puffs smoke as if from the nostrils of a dragon.
Sparks fly from the bottom of the beast.

Night hawks circle in the air gracefully.
These birds otherwise silent except for shrills of their call.
The sight of them is lit up by the fullness of the moon.
The beams from the machine give the hawks a ghostly presence.

Rolling down the tracks, the conductor is blind in the dark of night.
The monster crests the hill not knowing what is ahead.
Over the hill it starts down steeply.
Steeply, steeply, the wheels turn faster.
Suddenly and unexpectedly, the beast comes upon a sharp turn on the edge of a cliff.

The conductor feels the monster shake and rumble and he knows.
He knows that he is going too fast and applies the brakes, but it is too late.
The wheels grind and even scare the night hawks away with the noise.
The cars sway to one side and then another.
The conductor knows that there is nothing he can do and hope that he makes it around the curve.

The night hawks seeing the beast dodge the swaying cars and scream the loud cries.
The night hawks cry a warning to the conductor but, he is not able to hear.
Only the deer and the bear hear the cry and hide away from the tracks.

The train lurches forward as the brakes finally catch and then fish-tails over the edge.
The cars tumble and turn as they slide off the ledge.
The engine starts to slide of the track.

The conductor is thrown to the back of the engine.
He thinks as fast as he can.
Does he have enough time to make a leap for the disappearing tracks?
He makes a jump for it and as he does so, the engine goes crashing down into the ravine.