heady syringas a garden in spring
a rhythmic mantra that the train tracks sing
amo amas amat as in a trance
they kiss entwined under a rising moon
she day-dreams of sheiks on the ride to school
romance true love exotic lands monsoons
but then she sees guillotined by the wheels
a headless chicken doing its manic dance
now her journey’s more confined from the train
she still climbs slopes flies kites surfs turquoise waves
sees a lone arum bloom in winter shade
picks ever-lastings hears a scops owl call
memories flash by ecstasy and pain
still-life framed by the windows of a train