Hobnobbing with the Philosophers: WHOE

Detail from “The School of Athens”
a fresco by Raphael (1483 – 1520)
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By Maik Strosahl




I belong to a group that shares photos and commentary about Abandoned Trains. I have used inspiration from here before as recently as my Broad Street Diamond post from back on November 2.
    A couple weeks back, Jason Whipp shared some photos of cabooses abandoned on a spur of the Walking Horse & Eastern line. I loved the name of the railroad and had to explore.

    There was no great story to this short line, but I did travel back and forth through those few miles in my mind, getting familiar with a small part of Tennessee and one of the many work horses that has anonymously kept our country moving.
    Thank you, Jason Whipp, for letting me use your great photos in today’s post.

WHOE

Flat shod,
rough rode,
seven point seven six miles,
Shelbyville to Wartrace,
Wartrace back,
tracked four foot
eight and a half across,
a Tennessee walker
trotting the Highland Rim,
WHOE-806 high-stepping
soybeans and molasses
from Duck waters to the CSX,
the world returning by rail
with the Walking Horse & Eastern,
one sure-footed gait
still click-clacking track,
a faithful steed
still holding the steel.

Copyright © 2023 by Maik Strosahl Michael E. Strosahl has focused on poetry for over twenty years, during which time he served a term as President of the Poetry Society of Indiana. He relocated to Jefferson City, Missouri, in 2018 and currently co-hosts a writers group there.