“I hear the train a’ comin’
it’s rollin’ round the bend…”
sounding its mournful whistle
far away inside the lonely night
saying goodbye as it’s off to places
she’s never been
nor ever will
though she’d like to “be gone
500 miles when the day is done”

she’s a soul who wanted to roam
“like a rollin’ stone”
but fate had other plans
for this old disillusioned woman
so here she stands
on this unkind plot of land
a house, a yard
a solitary life
all hers and hers alone to tend

though…

she wonders sometimes
if anyone would miss her
if, like in times of yore
with nothing but
the clothes she’s wearing
and a small backpack
she becomes “Queen of the Road”
and rides that train to
the “End of the Line”

©2026 Kate Wolfe
(Reworked older poem.)

Featured image via Pixabay.