England by Rail

i. A crane in a scrap metal yard unclenches a great, magnetic claw. Breast-shaped mounds of soil sit two fields away from the pit, a future fish pond. Gulls glean in the plow’s dark wake. A large, white dog follows two boys along a dry creek while we in our fast train hurtle backwards over the sleepers in their gravel beds.

ii. A signal goes out & we creep slowly through the night so the driver can inspect the track. Three stops ahead, another train catches fire & we wait for more than an hour on some siding between stations. The darkness is busy with our reflections. We move about looking for outlets to recharge our mobile phones. Here & there an anonymous light glimmers orange or blue.