TrainWrite

Hohner for the Brakeman

by Dennis Mahagin

for Kim Addonizio


Delray finally lost 

his license to practice 

poetry; nearly died when he tried dashing 

one off at the Orange Julius. It came out 

instantly wrong as a monkey suit, a rent-a-cop 

confiscating harmonica songs. He blew town 

with a deaf man’s purse, some egg shells floating 

around in there, too. Revision only made it worse; 

he’s down at the rail yard now, with zippered lip

hitting up switch men for something, anything

lyrical to do. They all look like Jimmie Rodgers,

casting no blame, to hear train songs only, lonely 

lonely songs of trains. First the Coast Starlight

then the Empire Builder pulls through long nights, 

all those lives under glass, heading for Libby, 

Mendocino, Whitefish, Oakland, Aurora 

Illinois. Delray waves semaphores at 

narrative, at metaphor, the hippie backpackers 

sacking out on Amtrak observation deck… then a 

fist fight between two half-white porters on the rollicking 

galley floor, teeth spit for blowing harp, thousands 

of miles from home. Delray hears it, hears it, vibrato 

on chrome, God but it could make a marvelous 

poem. Midnight and Delray will ask the moon for the Nth 

time, for a light, for a quarter, one more reprieve sweetened 

by imprimatur, horn of plenty. Instead he receives a sickle 

of ice down his pants, hot foot, palm hoot Toots Thielman 

C chord for the deaf man, fancy dance and the moon 

says not a chance…not a chance. Back and forth 

poor Del hops the tracks, forever 

chasing voices that cannot 

stop to chat.

 

 

Dennis Mahagin’s writing appears in magazines such as Juked, Evergreen Review, and Smokelong Quarterly. “Hohner for the Brakeman” first appeared in LucidPlay.

Notes

  1. This was featured in #Poetry
  2. trainwrite posted this
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