THE HORIZONTAL LADDER

THE HORIZONTAL LADDER

The horizontal ladder
Lies still,
Steal, lying prone
Unchanging,
Motionless.
Moving cargo rolls,
As locomotives,
Steam then, now
Diesel
Pulling, unchanging
Loads, back
And forth
In cars
The same as before
Or back then.
Box, hopper,
Tank, and flat,
Moving, back and forth,
This way
Or that one,
Unchanging,
Through cities
And towns,
Lit illusions
Of change.
Yet nothing does.
Why should it?
Far too rare
Are the tracks moved
There was a chance
Once
Back then.
But things move
Forth, or forward
In step
Unchanged
With the ubiquitous
Sameness.

The gates rise
And the cars move
Back and forth
Unchanged.
Why shouldn’t they?
After all, things are
Replaced.

~Michael Bahm~

More Poems By Michael Bahm

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