On the Train
After all these years I sit
Once again on the train, the
Birthday train where we who
Have birthdays go to be
Special, hoping to be special
And we are, even if no one knows
But ourselves, we who have
Birthdays and ride
The birthday train.
Yarn everywhere, knitters
Chatting and staring at their
Work. Where do they all
Come from and why are they
Knitting, here on the train
The birthday train, perhaps
It is their birthday. They are
Knitting to feel special. The
Girl who talks loudly and
Sells yarn should go away.
I feel strange not knitting
Instead my yarn is already
Wrapped around me, soft
Black, gray, silvery mauve
My new sweater helping me
Feel special on the train. New
Clothes on the train
The birthday train to Portland
To spend a special day.
Lacking rest, head aching,
Bad coffee, which nearly
Landed in someone’s lap
As I rocked back and forth
The motion of the train both
A comfort and a challenge
breakfast pizza and my
daughter friend wanting to
make new memories of
being special on the train
We are special together
Just because we are here
My daughter and I
Riding on the birthday train.
As it turned out, we were on the Yarn Train. Ladies from a Seattle area knitters guild travel regularly to Portland yarn shops for a day trip. So interesting… Just sayin’.
I Just Have to Say... 
What marvelous images, and how rhythmically they carried me down the track. Clicking and rocking, gliding and rolling — I need to ride on the birthday train. (I laughed out loud over your advice regarding the Girl who talks loudly.)