The Ghost Lantern

Gather and let me tell you a story

About a bright, white, ghostly, shifting light

A lantern that hangs over the railroad

Faithfully shining the way through the night

* * *

The lantern once stood for fame and glory

But now it brings night-goers quite the fright

When they see the specter at its abode

A singular light that makes them give flight

* * *

The light’s owner met an end so gory

It would make your hair stand up to full height

Struck utterly by a train while he strode

Too bloody, too scarred about which to write

* * *

Now the lantern haunts the tracks and quarry

Shining the way for travelers so bright

Even as the trail that he took erodes

It tries to save others from his same plight

* * *

So when you think back upon this story

And your throat begins to grow dry and tight

Remember why each night that lantern rode

And give it all the respect that you might