Alchemy And Treasure

The warm heat
Of the sun’s breath
Exhaled delicately around us
As my brother and I
Explored the measure of railroad tracks
Stretched tightly
Across gravel beds
Behind our Grammy’s house
In Montclair.

Like previous expeditions
We arrived
Pockets full
Of saved or found
Silver and copper coins
Which we carefully lined up
On the bright steel rails
Shimmering.

We would continue
To explore
Listening for the heavy weight
Of an oncoming deisel
In the distance.

When it was discerned
That the train was coming from the correct direction

We would run back
Through the brush
Sawgrass
Prickers
And industrial waste
Perching ourselves somewhere
To survey in anticipation.

Sometimes
We would watch in plain view
Pumping our arms
As a signal to the engineer
Who would most often
Respond to us
With a blast of the air horn
Grinning a tombstone smile
Within the open window.

Miles of freight would thunder by.

Metal creaking
Steel on steel whining
Trackbed groaning
Wheels clacking as they rolled over joints.

When the last car went by
We would tumble down to the tracks themselves
Watching the train snake off into the distance.

We’d find some of the coins
Still on the tracks
Too hot to touch.

Others could be found
In the general vicinity.

We would pick them up
And observe our work.

The talent of practiced magicians
Studied right there in the laboratory.

How thin?
How stretched?
Was the picture or writing still visible?

When the coins had cooled
They were put back into pockets
And taken home
To be put in young pirate’s
Treasure chests
Filled with stuff of sparkling admiration
For years to come.