Embarking on a train of thought The wheels at first turn slowly As fuel begins to heat within The grate until it wholly Consumes contained convulsing flames That lick upon the belly Where water bubbles into mist, Then steam, through pipes upwelling To boiler's blaze the engine strains From jostles and jerks to rolling And every frame beyond my brain Are blobs, then streaks, then only Soft blurs that swim till I begin To sense a coming peace As fuel is spent, and fires relent And vapors all but cease I latch the boiler gate and let It coast into the station And rest my cooling mind awhile Awaiting inspiration.
