Train to Waterloo By Christopher Ray

Train to Waterloo

Riding the train to Waterloo
I heard a laugh I thought was you
But knowing that could never be
It brought a piercing memory

Like resonance of blackbird trill 
That conjures spring and summer thrill
It’s never faded, sometimes there
And I remember when and where

Playing your out-of-tune guitar
Turning beside me in your car
In the bathroom, dripping hair
Tipping from an old deckchair

Combing strands with fingertips 
When they were blown between our lips
Dancing in midsummer heat
Teasing me beneath your sheet

I close my eyes to bring you back
A mountaintop, an old backpack,
Clinging together with the view
The earth was old – but we were new

Now unlike you, I’ve lingered on
With many springs and summers gone
And memory in some decline
¬– I still can sense your arm in mine

From all those many years ago
When days were fast and never slow
Though life and times moved us apart
You fill a pocket in my heart

And riding on that London train
Watching diagonals of rain
There was girl who laughed like you
In nineteen seventy-one or two.

Christopher Ray is based in the south of England and writes short shorts, long shorts, flash and a dash of poetry, springing from travel, life and love. His work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Scribble Magazine, Spelk Fiction, Platform for Prose and 101 words.