私のお気に入りは、ここ ニューバーグの図書館。ハドソン川に面して大きくクリアなガラスの窓が、差し渡し真横に伸び、快適な椅子に座ってラップトップを広げる。老眼なのに、対岸の電車；メトロノース・ハドソン線がビーコン駅を通過したり停車するのも見えるし、ビーコンの美術館 も見える。
ハドソン川のこちら側、眼下には規則的に行き来する貨物列車が走る。ほとんど気にも留めないけれど夜中や明け方、家の隣を走ってるの？と錯覚するくらい警笛が耳に飛び込み、唐突に何か形状し難い胸苦しさ、郷愁といった感覚に襲われる。
鉄道、列車、夜汽車、は古今東西、唄にも詩にも文学にも映像にも定番だし、そこに始発駅・終着駅（生・死）といった象徴的概念も加わって、通過駅、乗り換え駅、各駅やら急行、特急も、それを選ぶそれぞれの生きざまの速度なのかなあ。今更ながら私の越し方で、駅と駅の間を走り抜けた人生、それらがいよいよ愛おしくなってきている。
銀河鉄道の夜/Milky Way Railroad 夜が明けたら/浅川マキ・Maki Asakawa Hear My Train A Comin’
Here Newburgh Free Library is one of my favorite places. A large, clear glass window facing the Hudson River stretches right in front of me, sitting in a comfortable chair and unfolding my laptop. Even though my old eyes, across the river I can see the Metro-North Railroad Hudson line passing and stopping at Beacon Station, also Dia Beacon (Art Foundation) too.
This side of the Hudson River, under my eyes freight trains come and go regularly. I hardly notice it, but in the middle of the night and at dawn, the distant horn jumps into my ear, I wonder what is the train running next to my house? Suddenly something difficult to explain with emotion shaking my soul and nostalgic feeling.
Railroads, trains, and night trains are classics in songs, poetry, literature, and movie/images with the addition of symbolic concepts such as the first station and the last station (life / death), passing stations, transfer stations, local trains, express trains, bullet train—I wonder if it is the speed of each life that people choose. Even now, in my way, a life that ran between stations (the highlights), the parts between stations are now a bit more important and getting acceptance and love.
