Departing Trains

When I was a child visiting New York City, the lights inside subway cars would sometimes flicker as the train crossed aging, uneven tracks. Once, the luminaires went dark for a few seconds. I closed my eyes. If the lights were still out when I opened them again, I told myself, using a ten-year-old’s logic, it would mean I could see the future. The setting that inspired this train of thought seemed to bear witness to hidden backstories accumulated over time. Leaning my head against the window and hearing a clang or thud, I’d think about all the unseen events happening within the murk of the tunnel walls. I still do. Crumbling infrastructure bespeaks tales of administrative neglect, but it also trembles with mystery. Train car lights flickering like a haunted house could signal either distressed electrical wiring or the presence of ghosts.

A few old remaining gremlins still lurking within the subway will soon be banished. A high-tech line of t…