A “Thank You” to an Engine Driver
I wake up alone and searching
There’s no movement of the train
I don’t know where I am
All I know is pain
There are gashes in my back
And bleeding from my head
My leg is also broken
I know I’ll soon be dead
My consciousness is fading
I’m back upon the train
It keeps trundling along
A cruel trick upon my brain
I’ve gone to get some water
Lack of sleep upon me
Then blackness pulls me under
No memories to help me
In the desert sun
Train tracks are lying near
I think I must be dreaming
I surely can’t be here
It’s hot and I am thirsty
The trains I’ve flagged won’t slow
I’ll die alone and scared
And nobody will know
I sleep again and dream
My head lies on a stone
I wake to squealing brakes
And then I’m not alone
I lift my blood soaked head
And cry out my feeble plea
One concerned train driver
Has finally noticed me
He has rescued me from death
I might have died in vain
But for a man who cared
Enough to stop a train
-Marjorie Napier-
This poem is dedicated to a man named Bennie Grayson. He saved my brother's life when he found himself alone, thirsty, and bleeding. He was only 14 at the time of his accident. To this day he does not remember how he ended up being thrown from a moving train.
9 comments:
Wow, that one put a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes Marjorie!
wow---this is so touching!!!!!
That is one bizarre and amazing story. Thank goodness for that train engineer.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Wow, you really had me with this one. I was pulled in, felt like I was there~ I am so happy your brother was saved; amazing story~
Dang! Quite a story, MARJORIE!
Good job of imagining your Brother's consciousness during that episode.
~ "Lonesome Dogg" McMe
Mom- I knew you would get emotional.
Whisper- thanks
Lee- Yes, the mystery of the whole thing still bogles the mind.
Ellie- Yeah, we are too! I can't imagine what we would have done if someone hadn't stopped for him. He would have died. Of that I am certain.
Stephen- I've heard his story many times. We aren't sure what happened, but I'll say that we have always suspected foul play.
MARJORIE ~
Yes, foul play sounds quite possible. How does one fall from a moving train and not remember slipping before the fall? Yeah, a knock on the noggin MIGHT dislodge your memory of slipping, but... I think your suspicion is reasonable.
Is the "Peggy" who commented above your Mother?
~ "Lonesome Dogg" McMe
Yes, That's my Mom. She's the greatest lady ever. I might be biased, but she is really an awesome woman. She's beautiful and smart and has a strong sense of right and wrong. She recently became a nondenominational minister. You'd like her Stephen, because she is conservative.
MARJORIE ~
Well, I visited her political blog some months ago and left a comment (which seems to have disappeared or been deleted).
But I was really impressed by the fact that she was aware of the income tax fraud and a couple of other things she had pasted/posted on her blog... "stuffs" that most Americans seem to be pretty oblivious to.
She's certainly well ahead of the curve on some of those political issues. I wish all Americans were as informed and open to views that, while correct, are outside of mainstream thinking.
~ "Lonesome Dogg" McMe
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