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727 Miriam Woolfolk “Railroad Man’s Daughter” In this poem Miriam Woolfolk, who lives in Lexington, pays tribute to her father, a railroad worker, and to a time when trains could take you anywhere you wanted to go. h (In memory of my father, Edward J. Lamy, who worked for the L&N Railroad, 1914–67) Small hand in yours, we caught the train as hissing steam swirled to and fro. The scenery blurred through drops of rain that pelted on the thick window and sent the wet streaks slithering past. We heard the crossing bells. The glow that circled from the lamp was cast above our heads. The clickedy-clack of wheels wove rhythms unsurpassed to those whose love of train and track is inbred, or inherited. Many’s the time I’ve wandered back in dreams, recalling from the dead dear past those days of other rides and places we once visited. The little girl that in me hides still lives, still wants to travel far, from mountain peak to ocean tides. Oh, I could go by plane or car, but how I’d love to catch a TRAIN— if it could take me where YOU are. 728 The Kentucky Anthology “His Land” This poem of regular iambic tetrameter couplets honors the faithful Kentucky farmer. Like many of Kentucky’s fine poets, Woolfolk is a longtime member of the Kentucky State Poetry Society. h There is a certain artistry to plowing fields. His eye can see deep patterns woven in the earth, his cloth of life. He finds rebirth each growing season. Planting seed, he prays for rain and hopes his need is greater than the ones who pray for solid sunshine every day. Weeds are his dragons. Hoe and spray his weapons, and the pests that prey on crops keep him in anxious wait right through the harvest. He is late to dinner, work seems never done, too tired to watch the setting sun, but farming-blood runs in the vein. He’ll likely plant next year again. ...

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