Exceptional My life had derailed. Derailed by Sis Cat Free Verse Poetry Contest contest entry

That morning, between King's assassination and Bobby's, four boys threw the switch on the Southern Pacific line that passed a mile from my home in the San Fernando Valley.                                                                                                                            As the freight crossed the Reseda Boulevard overpass, the train buckled and its cars uncoupled, tumbling down the embankment and piling up. A broken tanker valve hissed Sulphur dioxide gas that crept toward my neighborhood. That night, after my fourth birthday, I became aware something had happened when Mom woke me. Bring your blanket. We have to go. I grabbed it and my elf doll, Sam. Where? Why? Before she could answer, I heard the sirens and loudspeakers. Evacuate. The fumes may be fatal. I next found myself outside running with my mother, my brothers, and my sister toward our '57 Chevy station wagon parked in our driveway. The memories haunt me now, like night terrors where I'm unsure if I'm asleep or awake— a burnt match smell; red and blue lights flashed; neighbors shouted; car doors slammed— too much information for me to process. I cried.    I didn't realize it at the time, but my life had derailed. I don't recall my father's presence when we evacuated. I didn't know where he was. He disappeared from my early life so often, we lacked time to bond. My life barreled down the wrong tracks before I knew tracks existed. My only sound in this nightmare wailed— wailed like the whistle of the Southern Pacific that penetrated the Valley; wailed like the fire engines, police cars, and ambulances that rushed to the wreck; wailed like the Cold War air raid sirens that screamed atop fire stations and thirty-foot poles; wailed until the other wails submerged my wail and formed a continuous wail that pierced the night.   Recognized Author Notes I thank The Valley News for providing details on the Southern Pacific freight train derailment in Northridge, California on May 4, 1968. The photo is of a derailment that happened five years earlier on the same track: Title: Train wreck blamed on sabotaged switch Date: 1963 Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library Source: Calisphere Date of access: September 10 2018 17:48 Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/0acf4e4aaf0f5262b46fb2d9bc08785e/ Thank you for your review.

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