Feature: Charles C Brooks III Day 6

On a Train

Train-traveling was a cabaret,
and youth made me depend on it.
Small-town lights smeared
and an infant always fussed.
From my seat, one row up,
a Nefertiti in blue jeans
read Neruda.

Near the rear a man, lost,
stared out with tired, yellow eyes.
Another couple made out,
moving hands beneath a checkered blanket.
I passed them,
swaying like a drunkard
to the smoking car.

The ride rushed me towards a girl.
Three days later we wept
on the same platform
with desperate good bye’s.
It was an innocent Casablanca.

Ticket turned in,
a suitcase was taken
up the stairs.
Like a cylindrical parent,
that Appalachian Express
rocked me back to Georgia.

© Charles C Brooks III

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Q&A

Who has had an impact on your writing style\career?

I was mentored by Larry Fagin for about six months. He worked closely with Allen Ginsberg and taught me how to write poetry free from old modes of thinking. Larry Fagin helped me hone my words in order to maximize impact. He never liked my sprawling poetry, but no relationship is perfect.