Monday, July 24, 2006

Runaway Train


Awake in panic

This train is goin nowhere
What am I doing here?
No control..
out the window
Mile after mile
Field after field
Town after town
Whoooshing by
In a blurrr
A passenger to hell
What the hell?
How did I get here?
Did I pay this fare?

Absurd
Not a look of concern
To be discerned
In the eyes of
Those dining
Those reclining

Feeling of panic
Nausea..sweat..anxiety

Head out the window
Screaming into the empty
Endless outside

Mindnumbing
Chug
Chug
The only sound
found
In this speeding world
Of present past and future

Looking for a reason
For this unending season
Where am I??
Shhh
Who am I?
Shhh
Where are we going?
SHHHHHHH

Running a blur line
Car after car
Row
Row
Row
Gazing into every
face I encounter
faces of death
Row
Row
Chased by the shadows
Of those dining
Those reclining
Shhhh

Must grab cOntrOl
Of this runaway train
This insane
Ride to nowhere

Wrestling away
COntrOls

Pressing
Pulling
Screeeeetch
I will stop this
Train to nowhere
In the next town
And get down
Seek answers
And make an attempt
Ignore the contempt
Of those dining
Reclining no more

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21 Comments:

Blogger workingema said...

Wow... I'm glad to be first to comment on your next 'poem of life'.
Your poem is what life is all about. You don't have control, can't have it, and you have to ignore others contempt to get the answers you seek.

Or try to.

Y'know... that's a spooky poem, man! "Get down to the ground, move to the groove" - please,... something lighter next time!;o)

July 24, 2006 11:08 PM  
Blogger workingema said...

But, have no doubt- I really do like it...

July 24, 2006 11:09 PM  
Blogger socialworker/frustrated mom said...

Great title, love the poem. I like the life analogy with the train.

July 25, 2006 1:37 AM  
Blogger the only way i know said...

perhaps this is your most haunting post yet..
i usually love train rides - but this one.... is a bit frightening..
it's a person's perception of life..
there was once this 'fun' quiz - you had to answer a few questions and then you were able to specify a few things about your personality accdg to the answers.
one of the questions was -
what emotion do you associate with the ocean?
I associated 'fear'
which accdg to the 'results' meant -
i was afraid of life -
which to an extent is true

this post sort of reminds me of my fears -
but it's good
and it's a wake up call
thank you as always

July 25, 2006 6:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting to note that the word control begins with the word CON. Is it possible that we are conning ourselves when we think we're in control?

July 25, 2006 9:45 AM  
Blogger Stacey said...

Wonderful poem, loaded with meaningful metaphors.

I feel settled when I am in control and completely unsettled when I feel I am not.

Feels so much better when the train is on track and the destination is forseeable.

July 25, 2006 9:49 AM  
Blogger anonym00kie said...

david, im getting tired of telling you how brilliant you are :) but honestly, this poem is amazing. so often i feel like i look around and i see exactly what you describe, poeple reclining and dining, completely oblivious of the destination they're headed for.and the way you describe that suffocating feelnig, you wanna yell out, jump off..it can be so tempting some times to just lie back and enjoy the ride.. but when reality hits..its petrifying.

July 25, 2006 11:39 AM  
Blogger chaverah said...

oh no david! hold that train, dont keep chugging and chugging along and never get to a destination! Stop it! think for a sec. realize what life is all about. All the good and special things that happenned to you and what you do as well. The train is not heading nowhere its where you decide where the train should go. Take control and be strong.

July 25, 2006 6:40 PM  
Blogger David_on_the_Lake said...

workingema....
I'm glad ur first too...
there are plenty of "lite" blogs out therte..and once in awhile I hit a "lite" mood....
:-)
No..u cant control the circumstances..u can only control how u react to them

SWFM...
Thanks so much....
:-)

theonlyway....
I love trasin rides..of course the train rides I take..are not runaway trains...lol
Hmmm this is not so much about being afraid of life..its afraid of not knowing...suddenly realizing..that you have no clue...what its all about...who..what..when and where..

ItsAllGood...
wow..great observation....

Stacey...
Thank you...
Yes..we'd all like some semblence of control in our life..

limey...
Yeah....well..the title is the same I suppose..lol
That song seems to be about someone running away from life..not trapped by it...

M00kie...
so stop already!
lol
Yes..you describe it perfectly..I think everyone reaches that point at some point in their lives...
some..at 40 some 50 some when they find out they have cancer...and to them everyone else..are the dining, reclining..that are just enjoying the runaway train for what its worth..

Chaverah...
I'm trying...I'm trying!

July 25, 2006 8:50 PM  
Blogger Bonnie B said...

OK that made my heart skip a beat! The tension is incredible-- nice build. It's the panic of your life passing you by-- that's how I felt ten years after I gradutated from college and thought "what have I done with myself?" At that point in my life I didn't appreciate what I did have (my children,husband and home) and I really just wanted to jump off, run away from it all and start over. I was so desperate for the dreams I left behind-- thank goodness I didn't.
Anyway, I felt a certain connection to this poem.

July 25, 2006 9:30 PM  
Blogger A Frum Idealist said...

limey, I was going to make the same comment. you beat me to it.

July 25, 2006 11:22 PM  
Blogger ggggg said...

Beware of the train wreck! :-)

July 25, 2006 11:54 PM  
Blogger Open Up! said...

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you might just miss it.

July 26, 2006 2:28 AM  
Blogger Pragmatician said...

very nice, I felt like I was in one of my childhood nightmares.

July 26, 2006 3:39 AM  
Blogger Sarah Likes Green said...

such is life so instead of panic, just sit back and enjoy the ride!

July 26, 2006 4:27 AM  
Blogger the only way i know said...

david
i getcha - still hauntintg!
limey -
loved your comment
prag
lol

July 26, 2006 4:49 AM  
Blogger bellanny said...

wow...it's scary when the train seems to run away from your intended destination. jump the tracks without your consent.

control is just an illusion. we all seek it, but are we ever really in control??

i sometimes feel like i am on the train to nowhere, but i try to think of it as building my own track. taking the path less traveled that make me happier in the end.

July 26, 2006 11:11 AM  
Blogger Stacey said...

I disagree, Eshet Chayil. I don't sit back and let life happen. I believe that to a certain extent we do control our destinies.

July 26, 2006 12:13 PM  
Blogger David_on_the_Lake said...

bonnie....
Yes...it hits us..once in awhile...usually something causes it to suddenly make us panic...and wonder where we're headed...

afi...
ok..u can both take credit

lv...
the train wreck is when no one bothers to stop it..

open..
that's very true...

prag...
hmm should I analyze..?

sarah...
u can only sit back and relax..when u have answers..and are aware of the destination...

bellany....
"i sometimes feel like i am on the train to nowhere, but i try to think of it as building my own track. taking the path less traveled that make me happier in the end."
Thats an interesting approach.
as long as ur aware of the destination...

eshet...
Yes...it's not in our control...but what is in our control is how we react to it...
This post is about lack of knowledge..the panic of being on a runaway train..without knowing anything about where u are..and where ur agoing..

stacey.,...
By reacting postively to life..we take control.

July 26, 2006 4:28 PM  
Blogger FrumGirl said...

This post is really up my alley. I always felt that we have bechira so why on earth would we deped on letting others led us in passive aggressive ways? Take control of your destiney. Hashem is the one making the real decisions but if we dont make our histadlus then what are we here for?

July 31, 2006 1:48 PM  
Blogger David_on_the_Lake said...

FG..
you got it..thats exactly the nimshal..

July 31, 2006 11:23 PM  

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