Camera clicks capture silent freight
Boxcars wear their graffiti crowns
Switchman waves a lantern slow
Morning coffee steams in tin
Brass key sentinel keeps watch
Fog-shrouded yard holds breath till noon
No lock accepts its patient teeth
Yet still it guards the empty space
Teen runaway boards eastbound train
Backpack heavy with stolen film
Shutter snaps the waking yard
Key glints cold in rising light
Brass key sentinel keeps watch
Fog-shrouded yard holds breath till noon
No lock accepts its patient teeth
Yet still it guards the empty space
Locomotive coughs black smoke rings
Couplers clank like church bells rung
Key lies still on wooden sleeper
Unclaimed purpose, patient metal
What door once turned this heavy ward
What chamber held what secrets deep
Rust remembers what wood forgets
Key outlives the lock it kept
Girl leans out the rolling frame
Lens frames fog and key and rail
One shot frozen, silver halide
Proof that waiting has a shape
Brass key sentinel keeps watch
Fog-shrouded yard holds breath till noon
No lock accepts its patient teeth
Yet still it guards the empty space
Train fades into western hills
Key remains on splintered tie
Fog returns to claim its own
Tomorrow brings another watch
Brass key sentinel keeps watch
Fog-shrouded yard holds breath till noon
No lock accepts its patient teeth
Yet still it guards the empty space
Still it guards the empty space
Shutter clicks
Rail hums on