Hit by a Train
My mother was hit by a train you know
not her exactly
but her car with her in it
stalled right on the tracks
(the car, not her)
no time for her to escape
before that train plowed
straight into her
She came home bruised
battered but alive
walked through the front door
just as normal as could be
if you can imagine that
made quite an impression
Made me believe in miracles
how they can happen
even to ordinary people
like Mom and me
and my dad and two sisters
gave me my first glimpse
of life's fragility
suddenly I understood
it could all crumble away
just disappear in a single moment
if I wasn't watching closely
listening carefully enough
Mom was hit by a train
that became our story
one of many
like a square in a quilt
each story sewn together
warming us
holding us together
My mother was hit by a train
suddenly we were different
from those other families
out there in the world
my mother was hit by a train
Reanne Singer
My mother was hit by a train you know
not her exactly
but her car with her in it
stalled right on the tracks
(the car, not her)
no time for her to escape
before that train plowed
straight into her
She came home bruised
battered but alive
walked through the front door
just as normal as could be
if you can imagine that
made quite an impression
Made me believe in miracles
how they can happen
even to ordinary people
like Mom and me
and my dad and two sisters
gave me my first glimpse
of life's fragility
suddenly I understood
it could all crumble away
just disappear in a single moment
if I wasn't watching closely
listening carefully enough
Mom was hit by a train
that became our story
one of many
like a square in a quilt
each story sewn together
warming us
holding us together
My mother was hit by a train
suddenly we were different
from those other families
out there in the world
my mother was hit by a train
Reanne Singer