

A little free verse this time.
I read he was inspired
By the
Train.
There was something
About the rhythm
And the rattle
Of wheels
On the tracks.
Solitude and relative
Quiet, often
Foster
Creativity.
Sometimes, when I
Ride, in the
White noise,
I can almost hear
Notes and melodies,
Like a distant
Radio.
Somehow, for him
It clicked,
Like a wheel on
A track,
Rhythms and sounds,
Horns that almost
Imitate the noise
And clamor
Of a train in
Motion
But
Melodically.
An emotive
Clarinet
Cries and
Laughs, along
With
Thrilling swells,
Syncopation,
Exciting crescendoes and
Building rhythm,
Interrupted by
Sweet,
Lyrical, romantic
Melody.
Once, one of these
Crescendoes
Woke me
From a dream in
Which I was telling this
Story
Of the train and
Gerschwin.
Thank you,
Mr. Gerschwin
for your
“Rhapsody in
Blue.”
© 2021 Susan Joy Clark
This poem was written as part of dVerse’s Blue Tuesday challenge. (I think I am getting addicted to challenges.)
A little end note: I wrote a similar poem, free verse, about Gerschwin and the train for a college creative writing class years ago. This is not that original poem. With computer failures and changing devices over the years, I’ve lost some of my archives. The dream really happened, a lot more recently than my first poem on this theme. I had put together a classical playlist for insomnia, but this piece was a little too exciting for my insomnia!