red mechanical elephants

I.
red mechanical elephants
were walking
with the trains
on thursday
at 4:30
                           seemed to be a lonely group

II.
three middle age men
stood together
at the train-tracks
on monday

and at midnight
slept in the railyard
until thursday
at 4:00

when they returned
to their original position
at those horizontal ladders

II.

in the afternoon rain
dust will turn to oatmeal


the men sang
and line danced
like some native american ritual
as the train pulled away

and in the afternoon rain
dust turned to oatmeal
and asked him for the time


as their three orthopedic shoes
swung together
like sledgehammers
hung at the hip

and i remember them stopping

i was combing my hair
fashioning a handsome mason dixon line
upon my scalp
which is pale


and i remember them stopping

as the elephants' trot
turned to loping