De Panne via the Ostend train
Coastal forecast: wind, no rain;
Graffiti scrawled by railway track
Dingy houses, back-to-back…
At Midi station, eager horde
Climb on, with mobile phones absorbed;
Weeds dominate this railway line
But verdant tendrils hide the grime...
Farms, fields and barns soon past us run
Scenic pleasure in the sun
While cranes and factories display
The Flemish ethic, bold but grey.
Greenhouses, some with broken panes,
Compete with polytunnel lanes;
This flat landscape marked by spires
As in olden times, inspires!
A myriad bridges punctuate
The line, while wind farms now rotate;
A pity - as they spoil the view
But needs for energy accrue!
These robot giants herald Ghent
Where we change, time quickly spent;
Onwards to the coastal plain
A pause in Bruges: tourists de-train!
At last, as North Sea comes in sight
White seagulls greet us with delight;
Ostend in happy face today;
But the Kusttram soon whisks us away!
Through the dunes behold De Panne
An hour’s bumbling ride on tram
Where Leopold first stepped ashore
And Royals lived throughout World War.*
Strolling families on the digue …
Less touristy with time to breathe
We wine and dine in quiet seclusion
Away from stress and in collusion!
(c) Poet in the woods 2026
* 1914-18
King Leopold I Monument in De Panne (1958)
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