I’m barricading myself,
Ready to ride this journey alone.
I feel a tap on my shoulder.
I look up to see a girl laden with bags,
An uncertain smile on her face.
“Can I sit here?”, she asks, hesitantly.
I nod.
Another person asks to sit here.
And another and another and another.
Pretty soon the compartment is full.
All of us sitting, talking, laughing.
For the first time in my life I feel like I belong.
What a wonderful feeling it is?
On this one way train on a one way track.
I feel more at home than I ever did.
When the conductors come,
I say, “Here’s my ticket.”
And I don’t look back
‘Cause I am on a one way train on a one way track.
Christina Pellegrino
Meghan O'Toole
33