waiting for the 4 o'clock train

consider mrs wilson confined to her walker
waiting for the 4 o'clock train to windsor
rope off your body with bright
plastic police-caution ribbon
your search for the promised land
begins with a long wait

the first step to the promised land
a ghost step
like the one at the top
or bottom of a very dark stair
mrs wilson is suspended here
waiting for the train
the 4 o'clock train to windsor
the train that never comes
though she asks again and again
year after year
no one thinks to tell her
she has to get to the station first

so life works for most of us
the promised land like an itch
at the back of your tongue
explains so much
why mrs wilson waits
miles from the station
why you wonder
enough for any poem