CLICKITY-CLACK

Some sickie took the clickity-clack
out of the new railroad tracks

It was bad enough they took away
the red caboose

Why can't they leave well enough alone?
I liked things the way they were

Clickity-clack, clickity-clack
coming down the railroad track

blowing that lonesome, wailing whistle
that I love to hear sing out to all

Telling us "hello", "goodbye
as it passes by in the night

Mr. Engineer, blow that whistle
one more time

and let those wheels go click and clack
all the way there and back

About This Poem

Last Few Words: ok, so it's whimpy. but I heard the train go through town last night, and it reminded me of my childhood fear of the trains whistle. A sound that I fine very comforting now. You just can't be brilliant all the time. sometimes you just gotta be you.

Editing Stage: Editing - rough draft

About the Author

Region, Country: Texas, USA

Favorite Poets: rethinking this. have recently started reading the works of some of the greats

Comments

Hi Linda, I would say whimsy, not wimpy

Hi Linda, I would say whimsy, not wimpy... I got a good chuckle & I think you'll find it has romantic or at least nostalgic cheer & appeal, added to the mirth factor, I reckon it has appeal in quite a few ways.

Cheers
Anni

hello

Always have liked poems with trains. Now prof. Holliday will explain why there's less clickety clack in the track than there used to be. Steel rails used to be about 60 feet long and it's the point where each joins that produces the sound. Now the new rails are 440 Yards long! fewer joints...less clickety.......end of unwanted lecture lol. PS poem got better and better as it went along...............stan

Stan

I knew it has something to do with the joints, but I did not know that it is now 440 yardsl Thank you so much for reading. your comments are appreciated.

Linda

Yep, Prof... it's all about the journey!

Anni

thank you so much for reading and your kind comments. The hello, goodbye part was my great aunt tell me not to be afraid, the train was telling us hello goodbye as it went through town. We lived in small town, and when the train woke me up it scared ,me.
Sincerely, Linda

Oh I too miss that as we had

Oh I too miss that as we had a record that had a
humourist who used this as his between-words-sound,
only I would call it diddlider diddlider.

We had the level crossing up the hill from our house, when I was a child,
the freight train used to stop there for the paper mill,
and the carriages would knock against each other
ricochetting down the line, then shunt forward and stop,
to shunt back again, never seeming to make up their mind
which way they were going.
My sister and I would listen in our half sleep,
its part of my childhood and awakes memories of it.
They were chuffer trains, steam engines, then of course.
Wonderful beasts.

This poem is one that children would enjoy too,
wouldn't they Linda? It has the rhythm and character that fits them well,
the child in us reacts to that!

Ann.

Ann

Yes, I agree about the children enjoying it. I like writing childrens poetry, and have several written. Whille I was writing it, I kept wanting to sing it mentally, and even when I read it out loud to myself, it seemed it needed to be sung.
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Thanks, Linda