Train Whistles & Park Laughter

Lyrics

[Intro]

You, old iron throat, calling through the dark.
CSX ghost, your wail at 11 PM.
Bessie Branham's swings creak empty now.

[Verse 1]
I lie here in this bungalow bed,
window cracked to the summer night.
Your horn slices the quiet,
from the tracks along DeKalb Avenue.
July 22, like in 1864, but no cannons now.
Just freight cars rumbling slow, 10 miles an hour.
You pull memories with you,
Pullman porters' ghosts in the cargo.

[Chorus]
Train whistle, you're the lullaby we didn't choose.
Sleep with you echoing off oak trees.
Then dawn breaks with laughter from the park.
Kids on the playground, 6 AM chase.
Bessie Branham's green heart wakes.
Your wail and their giggles, Kirkwood's duet.

[Verse 2]
Morning light filters through river-rock columns.
I step out to the porch, coffee in hand.
Hear the swings start their rhythm,
metal chains groaning like your rails.
Little feet pounding the grass,
cut fresh yesterday, smelling of earth and dew.
A boy shouts 'Tag!' near the gazebo,
where that kazoo solo played in '75.
You answer from the south, a long blast.

[Bridge]
Two sounds braided in this eastside air.
Your iron vein pulses constant,
CSX engine groaning past Pratt-Pullman.
While the park breathes life,
snow cones dripping cherry red on small hands.
80 degrees, breeze carrying both to me.
How do you coexist, whistle and laugh?
One hauls the past, the other pulls tomorrow.

[Verse 3]
Evening comes, 4 PM rush at the park.
Parents calling names: Jamal, Aisha, run home.
Your horn warns at the crossing,
Hosea L. Williams Drive trembling.
I close my eyes, address you directly.
Old friend, don't stop your song.
It's the thread stitching our days.

[Outro]
Sleep with trains, wake with kids.
Kirkwood's heartbeat, in whistles and joy.
Goodnight, iron throat.
Good morning, green heart.