CATTLE CARS

The trains stand still on the tracks, snorting like bulls.

We are herded in.

Packed tight.

I am pushed up against the side wall.

I can see out between the boards.

My breath escaping like puffs of smoke.

We no longer know if it is dawn or dusk.

Are we asleep or awake?

The train jerks forward, tossing us about.

We are moving.

Steel wheels clacking.

The outside world goes by in a blur.

Like cattle we stand huddled together

so close that we hold each other up.

We hear a mournful whistle,

long and low.

We cannot tell if it comes from one of us

or the train itself.