It's Not Just Trains

It's Not Just Trains 
by Lawrence Raab

The ticket office was closing
when we arrived and were informed
our train had departed ahead of schedule.

"What do you mean?” I asked. "Trains
leave on time, or late, but never early."
"Such things happen," the agent replied,

"more often than you would think."
"Look around," he added,
"and pay attention. It’s not just trains."

When I told my family of this unexpected
predicament, I was taken aback
by their lack of surprise. "Let’s wander

a while through this pretty little town,”
my wife proposed, “and see what happens."
"Or else,” said my son, "let’s head off

into that dark woods beyond the tracks,
each alone and without our baggage,
and try to find our way out

before nightfall.” He smiled, I thought,
at me in particular, as if he’d known
all along that would be the plan.


"It's Not Just Trains" by Lawrence Raab from Mistaking Each Other for Ghosts. © Tupelo Press, 2015.