From A Railway Carriage Poem by Robert Louis Stevenson
From A Railway Carriage
Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
And charging along like troops in a battle
All through the meadows the horses and cattle:
All of the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain;
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.
Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,
All by himself and gathering brambles;
Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;
And here is the green for stringing the daisies!
Here is a cart runaway in the road
Lumping along with man and load;
And here is a mill, and there is a river:
Each a glimpse and gone forever!
Extraordinary speed implied so...so skilfully within space between words, Marvelous. Lucidity the main criteria to communicate the flying expression...may it be the conscious withdrawal from the existing material world. Unique and unique forever. Pranab k c
Captivating is how I would describe it. On reading the first line I thought it was a poem just for children, but I must be a child at heart because I was caught up in the magic of this one. The words fit together almost like the sound of the train itself, moving down the line.
Grab a ticket and enjoy the ride. This is onomatopoeia at it's best. Listen to the music of the poem, the rhythm of the wheels, sway with the movement of the carriage, and simply enjoy the view. Intellectuals would no doubt dissect this piece and discuss the transition of time and the fleeting existence of we mere mortals. I prefer to enjoy the sheer exhuberance of the poem
The poem is a description of the poet's personal experience and his observations as an onlooker. Compare this poem to Robert Frost's FIGURE IN THE DOORWAY... you'll find out we are all guilty of this kind of reportage. A lovely poem.
Yes, dear poet, I felt, on reading the poem, that
" Find and copy the word that means " see for a moment" ." where? ? ?
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This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/3/2025 5:06:11 AM # 1.0.0
One of my favourites along with 'Night Mail'. The rhythm really reflects the sound of the steam train and views from the window seen on frequent childhood journesy by steam train.