Loco Motive

One week is all we have
To prove that we can play the piece
All the while speeding off down the rickety tracks
Where at the end they dangle broken and twisted
The cliff edge looms ahead as we speed ever faster
I, tied to the front car, my hands behind my back,
Hot steam curling around my florid cheeks
He, straddling a stallion as it rides alongside

It is most stressful to know that the fate of your solo
Depends on the ability of your accompanist to gallop ahead of the
Runaway locomotive in time to pull the switch back and
Shift that fatal piece of music
Inches to the right
Where the train and I,
My eyes closed against the rushing gale,
Race onwards down the safe path

It is most stressful to struggle on your own,
But to no avail
Only able to watch on as the young horse and rider
Leap over one obstacle and another,
Barely skimming the massive boulder
Hoping that they will be able to hold out to the end and not fall,
Tangled,
To the ground
Bu instead
Pull back the switch as the train rushes past,
The hot steam singing the beautiful music.

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