The best part of our trip to Florida

Was the train

It took two and a half days

To travel from Pennsylvania Station to Miami Beach

We had a roomette

With fold down beds and

A tiny bathroom

At night I could lie in my bed

And lift the shade to see

Dark train stations as we passed through

In the daytime I sat on a bench next to my mother

And watched the backs of houses fly by

Tin-roofed shanties

Laundry hanging on the line

Cotton fields and tobacco sheds mile after mile

Each morning we ate pancakes and sausages

Served by Pullman waiters in crisp uniforms

Who poured coffee for my parents most respectfully

With white gloved hands.