Sunday, August 28, 2016

Sleeping Train by Nada Adel Sobhi - Poem



Darkness surrounds,
Worry abounds,
No snow,
But bone-chilling cold
Lurks in the vicinity

Hoodie-covered,
Sweater-hidden
Men and women
On a sleeping train

But who is truly sleeping?

The train stops,
Some get up and wonder
"Are we there yet?"
"It's too early to stop,
Still 8 hours to go!"

Several trains pass us by.
Hands shake,
Shoulders shiver.

The cold seeps in,
Threatening to break our sleep,
Or dormant strength.

Sounds from the next door cabin
Spell noise
For the already restless and wandering mind.

Eyes once too sleepy,
Now awake,
Searching,
Studying,
Calculating,
Jumping from side to side
Looking for answers.

The heater seems to have died,
Or the cold has won the fight,
A fight the sleepers are unaware of.

The night grows darker
And we are standing still.
Where? I know not.

My mind won't dim tonight,
Not at least until we're moving again.

Then I'll begin my own battle
With the cold,
Under a hoodie and a blanket
That are no match
For the cold seeping into my bones.

Written 26 January 2016
At 1:41 am

On a train from Cairo to Luxor



train-at-night (via greenlanternpress.wordpress.com)

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