Home / Order / Contact / Submit / Links

THE EVENING HAZEL FLAGGED THE TRAIN
by Harding Stedler
copyright © 2001



Ludlow Press Poetry

The Evening Hazel Flagged The Train

The sun was setting on September

the evening Hazel tried to flag the train.

In her cowboy boots,

she hiked her pant leg,

yanked the wrinkled kerchief

from her hair to frantically wave its red,

balancing her diminuitive frame

on the polished rails of steel.

Her screams were such

that crickets crept in silence.

Hazel had never tried to stop a train before,

but those of us who watched

never would have known.

Rounding the bend on the edge of town,

the train began to slow.

We could hear the braking of the engine

and watched sparks, like fireflies,

signal the approach of evening.

Not far from where Hazel stood,

the diesel engine gasped

and the train stood still.

She held it hostage

until the last light in the depot dimmed

and the voices all went home.

Harding Stedler was named Shawnee State University's first Professor Emeritus in 1995. Retired after 34 years of teaching, he makes his home in Arkansas where he works as a writer/proofreader. He is a member of the Executive Board of the Poets' Roundtable of Arkansas and vice-president of the River Market Poets
E-Mail: cabotrabbit@futura.net

Back to Poetry Page
[Back to top]