05-12-2020, 11:41 PM
22
Re: Silver Tabby's Scribblings !
Here's one for the railway enthusiasts among us!THE OLD TUNNEL
I was magnificent once.
Half a mile of high arched
architecture, punctuated
with lamps and air vents,
leading the rumbling trains
safely through the hillside.
I knew them all. Flying
Scotsman, Duchess of Hamilton.
Even the majestic Mallard,
gleaming blue and silver,
throttle straining, whistle screaming,
once came hurtling through.
And then, soot blackened,
steam streaked, diesel stained,
they abandoned me. Electric
cables hum now above shiny steel.
New routes, new age. My time
is gone, I am history.
Concrete blocks crack, red
brick crumbles, eroded by water
dripping slowly from somewhere.
as the unseen, unknown feet
of less welcome travellers
patter in the darkness.
Spiders, spinning webs to catch
their prey, touching me softly,
swiftly, silently. Cobweb kisses.
They also wait and listen
in the darkness, but for what?
No-one comes here now.
The lichen encroaches,
hanging in slimy drifts,
stinking of decay.
Rails rust, sleepers rot,
rats die and lie forgotten
in the darkness.
No more the sibilant hiss of steam
or thrilling rush of wheels.
Nothing but the echo
of the ghost of a dream.
An engineering triumph,
no longer used or needed,
and going nowhere.
© 2020
05-12-2020, 11:56 PM
24
Re: Silver Tabby's Scribblings !
Originally Posted by Harbal
->
Your ingenuity amazes me, ST. It wouldn't occur to many people to write from the point of view of a tunnel. I remember being fascinated by the defunct Woodhead tunnel, some time back, so it struck a chord with me.
06-12-2020, 12:05 AM
26
Re: Silver Tabby's Scribblings !
Originally Posted by Tiffany
->
Lovely poem, Silver Tabby.It reminds me of the old rail tunnel they unearthed in Liskeard when they were building the new A38 to by-pass the town.
|
|
