Literary connections

 

Towards the end of last year, I came across a little piece on the Facebook page of The Watercress Line asking for poetry pieces to put in an anthology to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway. Getting back into my writing mojo, I decided to take the plunge and write and submit a piece. It had been a long time since putting my work out there at the time, and the promise of all works being published meant that it might be read by someone else and seen in print....... It was a win, win!

I have waited eagerly for May to arrive and the anthology to be posted online. Today, I finally saw that the pieces were online and ready to read. I read some fantastic poetry, scrolling through 100 pages of poetry.......all except mine. 

I am not letting it get me down. I know I am fully capable of writing publishable work. I am currently working on a new project mixing my interests in mindfulness and storytelling and also awaiting some response to another project I saw on Facebook which I would love to get my teeth into. A lot of this I am leaving up to fate!

Anyway, here is the poem I wrote entitled Literacy Connections.

Trains in all their beauty and glory,

Have always brought life to a story.

They inspire writers to pick up their pen,

Ink on the paper, write..... and then

We are taken to other realms imaginary

Where trains have style and personality.

Like Thomas, Gordon, Edward or James

Whoever believed that trains could have names!!

The mystery of the train led writers to pen crime,

Murders committed, inspectors running out of time

Stories emerged written about rail

With children so brave they couldn't fail

To rescue and engine from coming to harm

Creating banners and waving their arms.

In literature trains are engines that can,

They are the setting where woman meets man,

They are the bullet train where danger enfolds,

They are the transport of wizards

(Or so we are told!)

From Hogwarts to London

From Christie to Awdry

Trains have always brought life to a story.

Copyright C Maskell 2025