Riding L’Etoile du Nord,
a fine European train
that runs from Amsterdam
to Paris
passing thru Brussels
along the way
I have my shoes off
and I’m relaxed
with a Dutch beer in hand
but the train is running
slowly—
crawling along
like a tortoise
I look out the window
and see a junkyard
where scrap metal
is being recycled
and remain unimpressed
The train crawls
Hell, if I wanted this
I could have stayed
home in Philly
and ridden Septa
but as it stands—
or at least crawls---
I’m here in France
jonesing to arrive in Paris
and finding that
it really ain’t no different
after all
11-20-95
Somewhere between Brussels and Paris