New Poem: The Underground Railroad

This poem was inspired by my recent trip to Cleveland.  It's not meant to be a slight against Cleveland, it is just my impression of the city or rather, how the city made me feel.  In truth, Cleveland is a very clean city with a hometown feel where one is never overwhelmed or made to feel small, even among the skyscrapers.

The Underground Railroad

Everything is rusting in Cleveland,

But it isn’t from neglect.

Rust ascends the wrought iron gates

Surrounding the preparatory school,

Scales the walls and in-between

The pipe fittings of an old WWII submarine

Whose gears have all been welded into place.

Water trickles over the rusted doors

Of a mausoleum and through the red grate

Of a storm drain, like inmates

Slipping through the prison bars.

Oxidation seeps out of the joints

Of the train car I am sitting in,

As steel tracks on rotting wood

Rust back into the earth

On the way to the airport.