Thomas Jefferson got squished by a train
Last month. Now the back of his head
Is all smooth, and nobody can remember
If he had a ponytail or regular hair.

Now his motto is just IN GOD
And LIBERTY is smeared out behind him
Smooth, vague, and barely legible.
You can read it only if you already know it’s there.

Reverse, his home’s half-pictured, MONT-something,
Surrounded by noble sentiments half-named:
PLURIBUS. UNITED. FIVE. The rest is gone,
Left on the rails, I guess.

I always heard a coin on the tracks
Could derail a train.
Maybe I just heard wrong. Or maybe
This is a job for Abraham Lincoln.