"Tracks," by Ann Malaspina
Born in Brooklyn NY, Ann Malaspina has an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a poet, journalist, and children's author. Her next book A Scarf for Keiko will be out in 2019.
One summer we lived
in an old mill house
on Pall Mall Street
with railroad tracks
in the backyard.
On windless nights
the freight cars came
carrying chemicals or grain
while I tapped my typewriter
and you drank beer.
The neighbor man with
the most beautiful baby boy
would say to me--
When are you having one?
Don't wait too long.
The tracks rattled, the baby
cried. I tapped out stories
about lost turtle eggs
and vanishing swamps,
savoring my time.