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.”