60103
Smaller, squarish, going nowhere soon,
The Flying Scotsman
pants and gasps
burping steam.
Wednesday afternoon commuters
interrupt bad-tempered waiting –
We are sorry to announce…
(They aren’t, you know) –
to smile and photograph.
You’ll never guess…
Passengers peer past the 15.36 Pendolino
to the 1923 A-class locomotive,
gleaming, glossy,
the world’s most famous steam train
at our station.
Men in boiler suits caress her –
Of course, it’s a she –
with that possessive air. She’s mine, you know?
The train arriving at platform 2 is…
not welcome at all,
we’d rather wait with the old engine
and conjure rail’s glorious past.
