This is one of my favorite poems of all time. I found it in one of my mom's books when I was just a child and it has stuck with me through the years. As far as I know, the author is unknown.

The Hell-bound Train

A Texas cowboy lay down on a barroom floor,

Having drunk so much he could drink no more;

So he fell asleep with a troubled brain

To dream that he rode on a hell-bound train.

The engine with murderous blood was damp

And was brilliantly lit with a brimstone lamp;

An imp, for fuel, was shoveling bones,

While the furnace rang with a thousand groans.

The boiler was filled with lager beer

And the devil himself was the engineer;

The passengers were a most motely crew -

Church member, Atheist, Gentile, and Jew.

Rich men in broadcloth, beggers in rags,

Handsome young ladies, and withered old hags,

Yellow and black men, red, brown and white,

All chained together - O God, what a sight!

While the train rushed on at an awful pace -

The sulphurous fumes scorched their hands and face;

Wider and wider the country grew,

As faster and faster the engine flew.

Louder and louder the thunder crashed,

And brighter and brighter the lightening flashed;

Hotter and hotter the air became

'Til the clothes were burned from each quivering frame.

And out of the distance there arose a yell,

"Ha, ha," said the devil, "We're nearing hell!"

Then oh, how the passengers all shrieked with pain,

And begged the devil to stop the train.

But he capered about and danced for glee,

And laughed and joked at their misery.

"My faithful friends, you have all done the work,

And the devil never can a payday shirk.

"You've bullied the weak, you've robbed the poor,

The starving brother you've turned from the door;

You've laid up gold where the canker rust,

And you've given free vent to your beastly lust.

"You've justice scorned, and corruption sown,

And trampled the laws of nature down.

"You have drunk, rioted, cheated, plundered and lied,

And mocked God in your hell-bound pride.

"You have paid full fare, so I'll carry you through,

For it's only right you should have your due.

Why, the laborer always expects his hire,

So I'll land you safe in the lake of fire.

Where your flesh will waste in flames that roar,

And my imps torment you forevermore."

Then the cowboy woke with an anguished cry,

His clothes wet with sweat and his hair standing high.

Then he prayed as he never had prayed 'til that hour,

To be saved from his sin and the demon's power;

And his prayers and his vows were not in vain,

For he never rode the hell-bound train.

Author Unknown

raw || truth
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Past Memories:

2006-01-13 - Fear In My Skin
2006-01-10 - The Moon - Our Silent Audience
2005-12-14 - Promise
2005-12-11 - Pure Bliss
2005-08-31 - In This Grave