Ten O'clock Train To Texas

 

By John I. Blair

It’s ten o’clock in Wichita in Kansas.
My brother and myself
Are tucked snugly in our beds;
On radio our “Dutch Uncle”
Shares good advice with us
About finances.

Which puzzles me a bit because
I don’t know what “finances” are.

And then across the darkened space
Between us and the railroad tracks
A block or two away a train
Calls out a ghostly whistle
As the nightly run makes danger
For the traffic up on Harry Street.

We think it’s ten o’clock
Because the evening “Texan”
Always ran on schedule.
Although we’ve never seen
This place named “Texas”
I wonder what adventures
Might befall me should I ever go.

Little did I know in 1945
That one day I’d take my chances
Down in Dallas,
Be husband to a wife,
Father to a son,
Neighbor to a host of friends,
Forever change my life.

The Ten O’Clock to Texas
Had more meaning than I dreamed
Those cozy nights
Beneath my blankets
There in Wichita.

® 2025 John I. Blair, 1/31/20

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