The Poems on the Train
It came in a plain envelope.
My first contributor’s copy.
No message.
Just the magazine,
cheaply put together,
one or two typos,
but hey—it was my poetry in there,
along with the work of three dozen others.
I remember riding the green line,
crushed between two heavyweights,
but holding that magazine out in front of me,
and open to the page with my stuff
clearly displayed.
I silently dared my two companions
to look over my shoulder,
read my very first publication.
Same with the guy and woman standing.
Their eyes had to do something.
Why not take in a poem or two
while we rattle between stations.
I later discovered this magazine
was one of those that publish
just about everything that comes their way.
But for a moment on that rattling train
I was somebody, a name in print.
And I kept that copy, creased, stained.
I could show it to you now.
The poems are real
but you’ll have to imagine the train.
John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in Midnight Mind, Willow Review and White Wall Review. Latest books, “Bittersweet”, “Subject Matters” and “Between Two Fires” are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in the MacGuffin, Touchstone and Willow Review.
