“Picture yourself on a train in a station / with plasticine porters with looking glass ties. / Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile — / the girl with the kaleidoscope eyes …”//

— Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

When I leave, I would like the day to be as soft as a bank of ferns. I would like the clouds to throw their arms wide open in a burst of silver and sunlight. Oh, when I leave, let it be a beautiful day!

soft greenery /
bowing to wooden ties /
as the train passes //

No film noir departure for me! No tearful letters dissolving in the rain! Let the rain bring its puddles with their many-colored reflections. There will be shimmering leaves, sunbursts, brightly colored umbrellas, faint flickers of bird flight. When I leave, the puddles will vibrate like portals opening into the aether!

irresistible /
dropping pebbles in puddles /
rippling my daydreams //

“Why is she looking down?” people will ask. “Not looking down at all,” I’ll reply. I’ll be exploring those puddles, making a world quiver with a gentle toe prod.

Perhaps it won’t be my toe that makes the world quiver. Perhaps it will be the thunderous rumbling of a train in a station. The air will be heavy with the smell of diesel and hot machinery! Inside and outside, my ribs will be thumping! My eardrums will pound!

Oh, when I leave, it will be a beautiful day!

my train comes roaring /
on rollicking waves of sound — /
leaving at last //

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Written for the Ligo Haibun Challenge, where our task was to write about one of two photos — I selected the train station. Hopefully you will forgive me for introducing The Beatles into a haibun! But … we saw a wonderful Beatles tribute band called “Rain” the other evening — and their tribute to the Sergeant Pepper era was amazing.

This post is also live on my primary blog.

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