Waiting patiently a quarter to one, <br /> we heard the whistle blow. <br />I looked at the others, took deep breaths, <br />it’s almost time to go. <br /> <br />The train approached, there it was <br />bigger than life in front of me. <br />my first time to jump the coal train <br />and take that coal for free. <br /> <br />We ran with strength and agility, <br />sprung like jumping jacks. <br />Took our places a top the car, <br />zooming along the railroad tracks. <br /> <br />Quickly with all the strength we had, <br />we threw coal to the ground. <br />The next task was to bag it up <br />and sell it in our town. <br /> <br />The coal train came everyday <br />at a quarter to one, <br />my first day would be my last, <br />I put my coal bag down. <br /> <br />Another true story of my childhood in Sydney Nova <br />Scotia. Jumping the old coal train to make a few cents, <br />very little gain indeed. Looking back once again, I see <br />the danger of the act, for what was profited certainly <br />wasn’t worth all that. A word to the young, “stay out <br />of harms way, remain honest and true, the coal train <br />was not for me and certainly not for you. <br /> <br />Written: March 27/2007<br /><br />Melvina Germain<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/152-the-coal-train-childhood-memory/
