continue to coast

Patsy was reading my book on the train to Philadelphia
at five o'clock in the morning

and i gave her fair warning
there would be clever turns of phrase
mostly stories of my younger days

i've come a long ways

since pulling pony tails and playing ball in a driving rain

my neighborhood was big but everyone had a name

and a place

we watched the first man journey to outer space

and i used to watch when people on a television high
heard the news

wearing factory shoes
they listened to modern American blues

thinking they had nothing to lose

their cars made of steel and chrome sang on the road
the world outside their windows always showed
their lawns were always mowed

but they didn't want to know the fatal game
assuming everything would stay the same

from our train window we saw true love slide
as the sun broke in the morning at 5

i  heard a conductor walking down my aisle
inspecting the passengers he managed a smile

he put all the tickets inside his vest
he wanted to get them off his chest

i saw him trade with Eleanor
she wanted less, he gave her more
it was very busy on the floor
not like it was ten thousand years before

now all the people devote their thought
to what they want and what they bought

an engineer waved to the passing crowd
his steaming whistle ungodly loud

the station appeared as we finished tea
and toast

the engine stopped

we continued to coast

but that's what i feared the most