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.”