3/3
Walking paths
take their place
Or, 'Sunday Train Rides'
for those who still
dream of riding
Into the sunset.
I walk them
for scenery
unavailable from cars.
#hbp73 #poetrycommunity #poetrywriting #trains #railroads #history #SkyPoets #poetry
Walking an abandoned railroad track, lying down in an empty grave…whatever enables one to leave behind or bury the weights that crush the soul, helps w/ realizing the priorities in life. Those who have done it, all reached this conclusion: Nothing compares to cats. The world needs more #cats! #hbp73
What a beautiful night for a walk.
#hbp73
* In honor of a great human*
Magical beings play golden harps and sound trumpets celebrating the ascension of Jimmy Carter walking on the tracks towards Heaven. #hbp73
#hbp73 3/3 off the train. It was a long slog over downed trees. We were making our way down the tracks in the dark lead by 2 lanterns. I could see white pants in front of me & when they shimmied, I shimmied 3 minutes after. I was stepping hoping that my ankles would survive the trek.
#hbp73 2/3 The car was full of people lugging their summer gear & some were lucky enough to have a cooler with a few cold drinks left. I was already late. The bee keepers were probably wondering where the city girl was. After several hours of sticking to the vinyl seats we were ordered the train.
@halfbakedprompts.bsky.social #hbp73 A summer storm blew through the East End & within minutes,the railroad came to a halt. I was three stops frm my destination, but it felt like we were hours away in the dark. The old train belched a few times pretending to move but nothing. 1/3
“Walk down the abandoned tracks,” they said. “The surroundings are beautiful. You’ll gain perspective.”
They lied. I froze as the train roared towards me on the not-abandoned tracks. I gave a silent prayer and took a breath.
Then, it veered off… down a branch line I had not noticed.
#hbp73
The last time I saw him,
he was walking down
the railroad tracks,
following the sweet smell
of adventure, never
looking back, just
down the line, where
the sun shone into his face.
#hbp73
Walking the railroad tracks,
my childhood footsteps
stitched echoes into
the gravel’s hush—
silver veins leading
somewhere.
Cities whispered in the rails,
seas sighed beneath rust. If I leapt aboard,
perhaps I’d vanish where clouds sip sunlight or
storms catch dreams.
#hbp73 #AmWriting
Walking railroad tracks was Bob the aardvark’s hobby—until one step zapped him into 1883. He met a cow in a bonnet who said, “You trespass!” Bob apologized, but another step sent him to 3025, where hyper-intelligent ferrets ruled. “Back to your time!” they yelled, zapping him home. #hbp73
The wood was old and soured. It had been made to last but it was tired now. Along each edge, the rusted iron of old rails ran, stretching the curves and straight sections of track. Each step brought back childhood memories. Walking this path would…the horn screamed. Ahh, too late.
#hbp73
"Tell me again why we're doing this," irritation laced in her voice.
He laughed before replying, "Don't worry, they're disused railroad tracks; no trains pass through here anymore."
"Then what's that over there then!?" She pointed to the light that looked like it was fast approaching them.
#hbp73
Walking the railroad tracks can be nerve racking, wondering when the next train will sneak up on you. But it pales compared to sitting in a car stopped over tracks emerging between buildings for a stop light, looking over to see a train quietly bearing down on you. An "Oh, shit!" moment.
#hbp73
#hbp73 #vss365
My feet plod along steadily to the music.
He said, that I’d find myself at the end of the train tracks.
2 years, I’ve danced & traversed these tracks, through lands unlike any I could have dreamed.
I just wish I could remember who I was when I first met the devil at the crossroads.
Your song at night:
𝑇𝑎-𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑘-𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑘, 𝑡𝑎-𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑘-𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑘, 𝑡𝑎-𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑘-𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑘
Next day adventures, we’d set out
All gangly limbs & high-pitched voices
Hoping to catch you
Tightrope walk lines
Hopscotch wooden ties
You led us away from our life
& any fears we had
If only for a spell
If only magic were real
#hbp73
Outside the village was an abandoned railway line. It was tucked between two embankments and under a Victorian bridge which still carried the main road into the village. It was overgrown, there were brambles and buddleia. It had been cut back. I had to walk the line, see this lost place. Most of the sleepers were rotted away now, but the stone could be felt under the weeds even if I couldn't see it. The steel tracks were there, where they'd been for over a hundred years. As I got to the tunnel, I could almost smell the coal-smoke from the thousands of steam engines that would have passed under its ascendant crown. I could see the thick soot, like the tunnel faded into the dark vastness of space. It must be a sight at night. I should come back on a clear, moonless night. It was decided! Nearing the centre I heard a rumble of a car above. Except... The rumble was in the tunnel, just ahead of me. A flash of light as the space, maybe two meters away, ripped like rotten cloth — tattered and flaking at its bright edges. I couldn't see inside, but now the sound came on clearer. It was a steam train. The train slipped through the space just as I threw myself into the red bricked wall. It filled with a dark coal smoke and I fell out from the tunnel with my face covered and breath held. I ran a bit further before taking a breath I was sure would be smoke-free. The train was nowhere to be seen. The brambles and buddleia in the middle of the tracks were still there. But so was the smoke, pouring out of the tunnel. I wasn't sure what had happened, but I was sure I wouldn't be coming back on a moonless night, if at all again.
#writingcommunity #writingprompt #flashfiction #shortstories #hbp73
"I've been down these rails before.
Back in the 60's when everyone I knew had turned to war or some kinda drug. I'd been down 'em."
The old man kept his feet on the ties as he continued.
"Yessir, used to take this rail up and down."
He paused, jaw working.
"Funny how they go nowhere, now."
#hbp73
To get to Santee station, Cosmo walked over the railroad tracks with bittersweet memories flowing into his head. Camp Pendleton made him into a Marine. However, loneliness lingered. He remembered the ceremony, alone in his uniform surrounded by happy families. But no one showed up for him. #hbp73
Following the railroad tracks is the path he chose to take to escape the mountains.
Nice and flat, away from the highway and its multitude of prying eyes.
The views are great up here anyway, he thought, only downside is the occasional high speed train.
#hbp73 #vss365 #writer #writercommunity
The view was fleeting
Excess paint swirled
In a glass
Parts of a landscape
Now gray
That didn’t make the paper
Northbound.
Bag in tow,
A slower pace,
I lower myself
To raw metal,
Counting spikes
That disappear
In the growing evening.
A brightness comes
Southbound.
Homebound.
#hbp73 #writing
As children, we wondered where the tracks heading north from town must run? Years went by, we drove the roads, but still the tracks are unknown. One evening, I snuck out, following the steel rails over hills, across streams and enjoyed the breeze through the trees. They ended at an old mill.
#HBP73
Walking straight ahead on the deserted railway tracks gave her a strange sense of power. Just what she needed. Like a metaphor of her current life: No exits, eyes fixed on a goal that kept shifting. She didn't know what was ahead of her, but she didn't want to go back either🪽
#hbp73 📸 my own
The mist swallowed the tracks ahead, each step on the rusted steel humming a forgotten tune. Below, trees stretched into the void, their whispers lost to the wind. A sudden gust revealed a figure on the far end of the bridge — watching. Nathan froze. The tracks had been abandoned for years.
#hbp73
Jack hiked through the woods but took a wrong turn. Panicked, he turned around and around and became disoriented. He chose a direction and found railroad tracks. They looked deserted. He followed their path, and hoped it would return him to civilization.
#hbp73
