Holidaymakers

The last day of the summer vacation We stopped in at the gas station We walked along the train tracks We didn't think about going back We drank watery coffee with cream The kind that comes in those little plastic things I was wearing the wrong shoes that day They were giving me blisters but I didn't complain Your hair smelled like the cheap shampoo From the single use bottles in the motel room Despite the heat I felt my spine shiver When we came to the place where the tracks cross the river I said "This looks a lot to me Like the train bridge scene in Stand By Me." You laughed but then we saw the train And as we started running I heard you saying "I love the heat of the sun on my shoulders. I love the cold of the river below. I love the spots in the corners of my eyes when I stare into the light. I love the sound of a train going slow." Then suddenly, everything went white With a light hard as diamonds and ten times as bright We held hands as we walked towards the source You asked if I was frightened and I said "Yeah, of course." Soon we came to a revolving door Just like the kind you find in department stores A faceless being made of silver and glass Said "Entrance only. Any questions? Please ask." You said "I know we're dead, but we'd love to go back." He laughed "If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that! And I've been giving more second chances than I ought to be giving So tell me what's so great about your life that you want to keep living?" And you said "I love the heat of the sun on my shoulders. I love the cold of the river below. I love the spots in the corners of my eyes when I stare into the light. I love the sound of a train going slow."