by Alzo David-West
Train Flowers
you know them
when you see them
when the trains pull in
to offload their cargoes
and their travelers
when the cadres
make their rounds
or in between
if two come at a time
iron wheels
grind sharply against
the tracks
with rust and steam
soldiers shamble
with rucksacks and letters
that bade farewell
waiting for the trains
and the flowers
Silently
[scene: the korean art gallery: a great-grandparent and a great-grandchild inside]
what did they
look like?
soft
like red bean paste
on the rocks
and the grass
and when
the rain came?
sometimes
it washed them
away
no happy faces
no noble smiles?
the party
made their songs
and the bombs
came
[exit the great-grandparent and the great-grandchild]
Editor’s Note on Train Flowers & Silently:
Train Flowers & Silently is not Alzo David-West’s first work to appear in Eastlit. His previous published pieces are:
- Stockbreeders appeared in Eastlit February 2015.
- You Looked so Handsome was in Eastlit July 2016.