The smoothness of this train
as it slips the platform’s leash
The window scene begins to blur
viewed through tear-stained eyes
A myriad of questions swirl
they smudge my addled heart
Creeping high above all else
it’s that merciless, that jagged ‘what if’

What if this 
is the last great beauty
I will ever know

Eyes hungrily study details in the cover image
letting the pages fold themselves closed
Trembling hands, clutch the evidence
but now that mystery is solved
I turn to the darkened window
right as the rain spirals to a storm
That nagging feeling tattoos my reflected face
that old familiar fear, that bottomless ‘what if’

What if this 
is the last great beauty
of my lifetime

Wisdoms laugh and wisdoms rise
atop my shoulder, they’re whispering my name
They smile ‘beauty is forever yours to find 
in the colossal or the mundane
It never ends, only shies its face
hidden by perspective or your mood
There will be more stories
more trains, more arrivals and departures'

But this epiphany fades so quickly
what if this is the last great beauty
that was meant for me…