Ridin' the Blue Train

Better catch that steel-wheeled ride

‘fore it takes off and slides on down

those tracks ‘cuz it’s a one way ticket,

and there ain’t no goin’ back.

Jump that rail and don’t tell Mama

cuz she don’t ‘bide by rattlin’ rooms

and shakin’ hips, but baby that song makes

you move in all the right ways of wrong.

And I’ll take back all dem days I lived

‘fore you cuz ain’t nothin’ I wouldn’t do

to swing you once ‘round the floor.

Gonna throw open all the doors so folks

can flock inside and heat up this joint,

pass it ‘round, so cool, so hot.

I got five dollars in my pocket, just enough

for a shot of juice. So, you can break loose,

lift that skirt just enough to see yo’ knees

and laugh when I beg please for more.

Hear that horn, baby, feel that thump.

Trane’s got a riff just for you and me.

He cooks that beat ‘til all you can do

is snap yo’ fingers and nod yo’ head.

Everyone said the man was goin’ places

but the only place I wanna go

is a straight-shot towards your South,

yo’ Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana too.

We’ll ride this blue train beneath the moon,

the tall pines runnin’ alongside and stars

burstin’ into white heat like my heart.

Take my hand, baby, and let’s fling

ourselves into this black night, show ‘em

how it’s done when the wheels slow down

and the bass is just right. The two of us

spinning like old vinyl ‘til the music stops.

And we scratch a powerful itch ‘til

the needle drops, and we ride

that train again.

© Ami Mattison



For One Stop Poetry's One Shot Wednesday