You were a breed apart
In your smoke stained mackinaw,
Tall, strong shouldered, slightly stooped,
Crow footed from facing down the wind.
Long ago you learned there was more to life
Than going to church,
Than pissing behind the barn.
2
Ice breaking on the lakes and
Redwings taking flight along the tracks
Were your signs to board the old Soo Line,
Grabbing familiar weathered wood and rusty iron.
3
Perched between the rhythmic clack of steel
And the violet light of dawn,
You reached for what all men feel but few can touch.
We boys didn't know it then
But you were the Ulysses in us newly born.