LIFE FROM THE LOADING DOCK

LIFE FROM THE LOADING DOCK

These are the tracks
that others abide
the other side,

the tracks today
we rock and sway
avoiding Chicago’s roadway
mayhem.

From a slow glide
we pick up speed
and discover train travel’s special view
of life on the loading dock side,
community backsides,
buildings unidentified.

The up close views,

    grain silos,
    water and power plants,
    a plasma center,
    parking lots for school buses
    and semi rigs.

Why doesn’t the interstate
show us more of these,

    scrap yards,
    piles of tires,
    rows of storage sheds,
    abandoned train depots,
    and DOT salt sheds?
   
The only face to face
full frontal encounter,
an occasional peek through a
transportation center.

Even their trailer parks face the other way.

    The underside of Chicago’s Skyway,
    steel plants and refineries,
    usually a distant view,
    now elbow to elbow.

There’s a warehouse fixer-upper for sale.
   
A lake with a marina —
our view, boats
shrink wrapped in winter store.

We can, I suppose, take heart
that in the hinterland
Mother Nature takes our hands
'round front to reveal all her parts. 


DRK
1/10/15