The sun sets
sad as an old
woman

too tired
to go on.

The sky’s stars
are bright
like crushed bones.

Buildings
at the side
of the track

elongate
their shadows
while a train—

fast as a fish
outside the net,
bold as a gold coin—

barrels towards
the luxury homes

where wildflowers
and orange orchards
used to be.

Natalie Marino is a poet and practicing physician. Her work appears in Hayden Ferry’s Review, Little Patuxent Review, Pleiades, Salt Hill, wildness and elsewhere. She is the author of the chapbook Under Memories of Stars (Finishing Line Press, 2023). She lives in California. You can find her online at nataliemarino.com or on Instagram @natalie_marino.

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