Moving on

Another train
Another journey
Yet again moving towards.....or was it away
I can never remember
Am I moving towards a new life
Or away from an old one best forgotten
I don’t know
The memory of why I left already fades
I look at my ticket to see where this ride ends
Back at the station I had put all the money in my pocket on the counter and asked
“How far?”
The old man in the cage handed me enough change to coax dishwater coffee from a
beat-up old vending machine
And a ticket bearing the name of a town I don’t recognise
As good a start as any
I turn to the window as a train bound in the opposite direction goes past
And watch the world pass by through a succession of windows
A staccato, strobe-like vision reminiscent of ancient movie projectors
Played at the wrong speed
The observation appeals to me
As a metaphor for my own life, if nothing else
The train stops and I see a sign matching the name on my ticket
Hoisting my pack, I step out onto the platform
I breathe deeply, inhaling the scent of this new town
and wonder what awaits me this time