boxcar garage
like a silver screen
playing a hobo film
in the sparse shadow
of a sunlit lot

peeling back the blue wall
between the yellow door
and the light grey barrier
a stack of red bricks is revealed
the white sign, offset above the yellow door
offers little by way of explanation
save more ambiguity
by way of obscure impressions
of letters now long gone

between the bold colors, the bright sun
and the emerging layers of texture
there is something surreal
about this scene

this door is ajar
although it is not a jar
because it’s a door

no one greets this train
when it comes to a slow stop
no one is waiting

to load or unload these cars
meanwhile, barricades pile up

in the lot between
the tracks and the old feed mill
briefly a thrift store

and now, once again, empty
and waiting, like these box cars

boxcars and blue sky
by the abandoned warehouse
sidelined in the sun

reliance on signs
can leave one in a quandary
when the signs have all come down

what is this place?
at one time
its identity was
written on its face
it was labeled

what happens
when we rely on labels
for identification? what happens
to relationship? when we learn the name
of a tree from a textbook do we know the tree?
what do you suppose would happen if instead we sat
beneath the tree twice every day for a whole year
without presuming to know its name?

wandering around this building
for half an hour with only my camera
and my curiosity, I have a much better feel
for who this building is, a feel arising
from the dance of relationship
something no sign or label
would ever be able to provide

the main line through town
rendering an auspicious sighting
even as I wend my way back to the car
after a stroll past the short line
whose southern terminal
lies just to the left
of this frame
trains come and go
the magic of the rails endures

ivy in arborescence
good for the ivy
bad for the tree
on this day
good for me

this intersection
of plant life and building
shows the one falling apart and
the other having needed trimming
to keep its growth in check while
the vine in the background
has already found
a new route
to phototropic success
on its way to the very pinnacle
surreptitious advance is an element
of its path of least resistance
life makes path out of obstacle
as it continues to flourish

for lonely looking buildings
the colorful framing
against the neutral walls
does a lot to suggest vitality
and even some sense of welcome
the mailbox and the blinds suggest
people spend time in this place
though I cannot call to mind
ever seeing activity here
or cars parked outside
I am humbled to find
how much happens
beyond the scope
of my awareness