THE TUNNEL ROUTE
French Lick, West Baden, IN
Spring 2017


Smoke swirls in the shadow as riders’ cough
in the warm afternoon breezes.
Two passenger cars and a museum engine makeup
part of the Indiana Railway educational system.
.
The fireman cautions,
No smoking,
Keep hands and arms inside the car,
especially in the tunnel.
Don’t want to lose your head, he adds.

The only smoking allowed is on the 208 SOUTHERN RAILS
as she begins her journey to Cuzco through the Hoosier
National Forest.
Tied-up canoes dance the stream
in the flooded lowlands.
One canoe has become unmoored, birching
and agitating as the swollen river takes it downstream.
Over my shoulder.
I hear The Haunted River is showing itself this year,
meaning the flow of water rises
and then disappears.

With recent flooding, bandits have taken off the week
but have left the kids a treat for their disappointment.
At the finish, the end becomes the beginning.

I hear grinding gears and feel the jerk. Smoke fills the tunnel
blacker than black for a few, and there are weighty
claustrophobic moments.

We’ve stepped from a time-warp, and riding the rails
was a weekly affair with James and the Young brothers.
Climb aboard, he says. Hands up.