FOR MY MOTHER

Freight trains rumble past

on the hour

horns like horses whinny

blow out over Tennesse

irons shudder

clenched undercarriage

running

striking out

the chuck chuck heartbeat

moving like buffalo

slow

lowing

bleating like lambs

and she waits like a mother

the homecoming

her arms are open

fires burning

kettle on

each where they belong

each one loved to death

the puffed Tennesse sky

lays over them like a lover