Things Occupying My Mind On the Train Commute
by Thad DeVassie
Twin smokestacks along the river expelled their last plumes of steam soot decades ago. My childhood friend’s dad was a chimney sweep. We watched him die. Not from an imminent fall, but a long succumbing. Still, among the cacophony of clickety-clacks from this train car, there is always a man twice or thrice my age looking through rain-streaked windows, toward those stoic totems of industry’s black lung, coughing and reminiscing about the good old days. In those moments, I can see my friend’s father, his rugged face, hand waving as he scales the façade of the left stack secured with ropes. I never know if it is a hello or a pleading for help, if the implied bedfellows of good and old are even compatible.
Thad DeVassie is a multi-genre writer and painter who creates from the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio. He is the author of three chapbooks including This Side of Utopia (Cervena Barva Press, 2023). Find his words and art at www.thaddevassie.com.