Life Along The Tracks

I come aboard,
Waving a farewell to my home.
I take a seat,
Look out the window,
Pondering if I will ever come back.
The doors close behind,
We begin to move forward,
My home fades into memory,
Into the distance.

I am alone, afraid, and excited.
Surrounded by unknown faces,
And empty seats.
Time circles,
Many things behind the glass pass by.
I desired to touch them,
Observe them,
Explore and discover,
Yet, all I could do is watch them fly away.

I did not question,
That there is more out there,
Then what I caught in sight.
I felt like I missed so much,
I yearned to return,
But the train knows nothing of that,
And I knew that.
I knew with a weight on my chest,
A pang of want.

Travelers like me,
Those faces that were just part of the crowd,
Some stayed,
And others got off.
I wondered who they were,
What kind of things they did,
But I never asked, and I regret.

Days turned into nights,
Nights grew into days.
I saw more new things,
Just within my reach.
I ate,
I rested,
I repeated.

Upon a day,
A stranger came to me.
I was weary, of course,
But we spoke anyway as the clock ticked.
We laughed,
We cried, we screamed,
We, grew.

I presented my knowledge to him,
And he to mine.
He showed me things from the outside,
The new, which I loved.
In due time,
I posted a question to my fellow,
"Where does the train go?"

"The train goes where your dreams go.
If you've none, you must get off anyway.
Even if you don't know where you are.
No one can stay on the train forever.
Having no dreams, no purpose,
You don't have a destination."

A night rolled along the train tracks,
And my friend, the one who helped me in so much,
The one who has been there,
Stood and headed for the doors.
They opened for him,
But I anchored myself to the isle,
Trying to hold him to me.

I cried, did he have to go?
I knew he did, I knew,
That this journey was only for a certain time,
For everyone that boards the train.
The only thing that I didn't know,
Was how to say goodbye.

He left me with a farewell,
And words that stayed with me forever,
"This is my destination,
And thanks to you,
I made it here."
A pause.
"You must have fun, be happy,
Share your thoughts, gather others.
Grow up to something great,
And go find your destination.
I'll wait for you there."
He leaves with no more words, but a smile.

I run to the window,
I watch him, he watches me,
All the way until we are almost gone.
We both made a promise then,
To meet at our train stops.

The sun rose that next day,
The train ground to a halt,
The doors opened.
Something inside me pulled me toward it.
I looked out there to confirm,
There was no doubt.
I stepped off,
Watching the train leave me behind,
For good.

I breathe in the air most fresh with happiness,
I run, I leap, I laugh.
And I began up the road.
I knew my journey was far from over,
But the greatest of all journeys, for everyone,
The one with up most importance,
Best experience and most significance,
The life along the tracks.