constructing poetry

coming home

I’ll be home for Christmas—
in my head these words
sing with train rhythms
as I sit and watch landscapes passing.

mountain passes climbing
through evergreens with first
hints of snow. I take pictures
through train windows and send to Mama
so she can wonder with me.

as we climb, snow grows thicker
until grass is covered—distantly
I see cattle, dark shapes placid,
munching, with bales upon bales
of hay piled nearby in preparation
for later storms.

two, four, six, eight inches
deep—tracks are paralleled by wire fences
to warn of avalanches, but surely
daily trains prove our safety.

through tunnels we climb
past all hope of cell phone connection
while rivers tumble by
far below—water shaping mountains.

finally we reach a tunnel
so long, so high that
at its end, snow falls—
a faint glitter kissing mountain air
I can barely see through train windows
as we head down, out of winter
towards Christmas and home.

line count: 30

Prompt 5 ▼

Theme: A wintery scene viewed.
Words to use: home, Christmas
Words forbidden: tree, field, street, car, road, lights, store, people, the
Additional parameters: At least 24 lines, rhyming or not.