I stand on the platform,
back pressed against the cold tiles,
watch Dad disappear behind the beams
looking to see if a train’s coming.

Remembering his story about
being dragged by a train in India,
losing an inch of bone from his leg,
surviving a cerebral hemorrhage,
“Daddy, be careful.” I cry.

On the train he reads the posters and ads,
editorializes or comments on each one.

Fin-tastic car ads are his favorite,
especially the 1952 Chevy Belair with big-fins.
Pointing to promos for Lucky Strike or Marlboro
he cautions me about the dangers of smoking.

When the Coca Cola and 7UP signs catch my eye,
I ask why we don’t have those brands at home.
“The seltzer man brings us fun filled squirt-bottles
and fruit flavored syrups, our homemade drinks
taste better than store bought soda.” He says.

Detergent ads influence Dad’s shopping.
He brings home Tide, and quotes the line,

gets clothes cleaner than any soap,

he memorized from the subway sign.

Miss Rheingold posters appear in every car.
Dad never drinks beer or goes into a bar,
so how did he vote for the winner
he boasts that he picked.

But the ad I read and shout out loudly on the E train:
Rockaway Playland admission to the Midway is FREE!”
Will remain in my mind’s eye forever.

Lorraine Conlin is the Nassau County Poet Laureate Emeritus (2015-2017) V.P. the NCPLS, PPA Events Coordinator and Dir. of Program Development for the LIWG. Her poems have been published nationally and internationally in anthologies and literary reviews. Two-time winner in the Allan Ginsburg Poetry Contest.