Sunday 15 December 2013

At the Level Crossing

Dappled shadows fleck the street
Magpies chatter, railroads meet
I wander early in warm sun
A flash of bikies do the ton.

Proud Scots pine and eucalypt
Form a curtain neatly clipped
Hiding low-rise, brick-built homes
From casual passers-by, unknowns.

The traffic – not a steady stream
Erupts upon this peaceful scene
But everyone seems quite laid back
Windows down, loud CD track.

Suburbia: glades and yellowed grass
Fire warnings, road sign: “Possums pass”
The level crossing flashes red
The cars start to line up ahead.

The local train soon passes through
Two coaches - passengers are few
As most prefer to take their car
On empty roads you can go far!

The barriers stay down - for freight
An endless line goes Inter-State
Cyclists dismount, more cars queue
And still the wagons hurtle through.

December and the sun’s intense
A hat with wide brim my defence
Against its burning lethal rays
As I stand, bewildered, in its haze.

(c) Poet in the woods 2013


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