A Trainload of Poetry (and a teaspoon of rhyme)

My fellow Californians
Were outrageously misled
We hopped a train for Frisco
But they dropped us in Merced

Jerry Brown assured us
That his steady hand was guiding
But the railroad we were promised
Has been shunted to a siding

Japan has the Shinkhansen
France the T.G.V
Rome has the Red Arrow
And New York, the I.R.T.

But here in California
Bringing pain to the commuter
The fastest way to travel
Is by Segway or by scooter

We get to where we’re working
By land or sea or foam
It takes me fifty minutes
And, to think, I work from home

I can’t believe our train is gone
What infamy!? What folly!?
Consigned to ancient history
Like buggy whip and trolley

And all across the country
I can see Progressives reel
How could Gavin Newsome
Countermand the Green New Deal?

I understand his action
Might be causing them frustration
As California wavers
So goes the nation

But take heart eco-warriors
As California fails
I know where you can entertain
The romance of the rails

I loved my days of training
When Penn Station was a palace
And I hear a high-speed rail is planned
From Houston straight to Dallas

It’s built by private enterprise
The market is pursuing it
Which means it will succeed because
The government’s not doing it 00000000000

A Trainload of Poetry (and a teaspoon of rhyme)