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Lyric Poem · Dreams & Sleep

Travel

by Edna St. Vincent Millay · 1921

1The railroad track is miles away,

2And the day is loud with voices speaking,

3Yet there isn't a train goes by all day

4But I hear its whistle shrieking.

5All night there isn't a train goes by,

6Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming,

7But I see its cinders red on the sky,

8And hear its engine $teaming.

9My heart is warm with the friends I make,

10And better friends I'll not be knowing,

11Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take,

12No matter where it's going.

Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.

Quick facts

Poem
Travel
Poet
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Published
1921
Length
12 lines
Form
Lyric Poem, Rhyming Poems
Themes
Dreams & Sleep, Life

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape
12 lines · 3 quatrains
Line length
Lines run 7-10 syllables (median 9). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record
Edna St. Vincent Millay1892–1950
Source record
WikisourceTravel by edna-st-vincent-millay, Wikisource transcription
Display decision
Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record
1921
Text fingerprint
SHA-256 d64af0cf11240d63
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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