Writing from the Outside In (day two)

Day two of the seven day Writing from the Outside In challenge.

Taking inspiration from things that are outside of my self is the charge for this little challenge that Sara Holbrook has given me – and accepted herself. It goes to illustrate our idea that writing doesn’t always have to be (and in the real world, usually isn’t) from the inside.

That is one of the themes that might be echoed in this piece that was inspired by the sound of trains outside just before I was falling asleep.  Sometimes I hear them and sometimes I don’t, it all depends on which way the wind is blowing – which in itself might be a metaphor.

Here ya go – Poem Two:

Wind from the Northwest.

When the wind blows right

on a clear and cool

end of summer night,

the trains that are really

miles away

sound like they are

just outside my window.

The whistle blast,

and the wheels clack,

ride through the air

as if their track

ran straight and smooth

just outside my window.

Then the sound seems to fade

as it follows the train

to wherever it is going

and I fall asleep

in my warm bed knowing

that the world continues on

just outside my window.

© michael salinger