The burnished train pushes on
This golden train has trudged its assigned tracks for 90 years
There have been occasional blips in its duration, but they were necessary for the builder to gain more character; therefore more value

On the train, however, the joys only enhance
Starfish adorn the walls
They slide around each other
They all coexist in harmony even though one might be a different size or color than the other
They know that they were put on that same wall for a reason they will never grasp
Although, the other might not be their best friend or sibling they have to protect, they acknowledge the fact that they must respect them just as much because one day, one of them might fall off the wall or they themselves might fall
They all want the reassurance that someone might be there to catch them, even though they already know how to save themselves

In the body of the train car, you see the people who have effected your life
Negatively and positively because like the starfish, they are your best friends, brother, and sisters, saviors, or victims
They all congratulate you on living another day
A difficult task most do not achieve
They each hug and kiss your now strong and limber body and your now opulent face
Then the one person who means the most to you is at the front of the train car
you look at them with passion and adoration
A physical display of your deepest convicting emotions for them
With their starry eyes and imperfectly perfect body, they say "you are what i am to you"
In your ear, they whisper "happy birthday"

even before your eyes open, you feel the world you want to stay in slip away memory by memory
each otherworldly magical moment of utter weightless happiness leaves
then…reality smacks you hard in the face as quivering screams snap your soul shades open
your achy bones creek
the pain you acquired years ago in your chest reactivates and the crimson you shed the night before breaks through its fresh barricade to soil your powder blue sheets
you arise from your portal and start another day as a mortal
one whose ligaments crack as you make sudden movements
your skin is not as crisp and firm as it once used to be
your once entrancing features are now languid and undesirable
the face you once hated is now worse and you long for the face you were once ashamed
your eyes reflect the events of your entire life
the black eyes you once acquired leave their chiseled residue on your brow
the creases left by stress still remain and you wait for the day when you won't have anything left to worry about

everyone you have encountered or come to know in your past has either dropped off the face of your world or you watched them deteriorate and leave the Earth all together
there is no one left
the ones you shared your story with are gone
every guest who attended your wedding
all of your classmates you had come to know over your academic career
pedestrians you almost hit with your car
the one who taught you to drive a car
everyone who had taught you a lesson
anyone you had taught a lesson
are gone
the ones that never got the chance to tell you they loved you will never be able to
every person that has pulled you out of a hole is gone
anyone that has ever put you there is gone
you have nothing but the memories of your mistakes and achievements of yesterday
hopefully you have more mistakes than achievements because lets face it, vice versa is boring
hopefully you ask yourself why did i do that? instead of what would have happened if i tried that?

as you inch your way down the hall to the washroom, you pass the stairs
you look down the stairs
you think about what the doctor told you
about your safety guidelines due to your latest illness and your life expectancy
you realize the amount of people left that will actually feel empathy

this is the moment your hands leave the walker, you turn your head, take a short look, breathe in, close your eyes,as you lean to the right
question is: are the stairs on the left or on the right?