The Day the Train Did Not Crash

We came to a railway track

I knelt and put my ear to it hoping

to feel a coming train

instead I saw glinting in the grass

coins, a dozen or so, flat and elongated

I took them in my hand, edges sharp

somehow lighter

a treasure to a boy

 

my father reached into his pocket

and I felt fear rise through me

with twinkling eyes, he placed a coin on the tracks

we waited

we waited for a train to come and this time

this one time, for the coin to catch under its wheel

for the train to leave the tracks

for the roar of airborne carriages and wailing screams

we waited

 

the train did come and I closed my eyes

held my breath

 

felt my heart thump in my chest, in my throat

 

then watched as it snaked into the distance

oblivious

to its brush

with oblivion

 

I steadied my hand and picked up the coin

forever changed

it was hot, burning hot, and I clenched it in my fist until it cooled