I think that this poem's main idea could be interpreted as just a rider on the train in deep thought, the author describes the bridge that the train passes over, the stars and the scenery.
At second listen the audience could interpret the train ride as one's journey in life, and as this author is on the train he is "observing" all the "good" things along this journey. I feel like the train represents the object of him reaching his goals. And by him riding the train its the start of his journey. The stars and the water could remind him of the good things that he seen on the way. The bridges could be the struggle that he had to overcome. As he looks in the dirty mirror he gets a reality check as he looks at the pain in his eyes. "The dirty mirror gives me back my face."
When the author mentions "Do you need a better friend, yes myself" I think is not only a representation of narcissism but also represents trust issues, maybe the author trusts too easily so now he realizes that he needs better, more trustworthy friends i.e: himself. The local stops and the "Nemesis" could represent road blocks along the way and the author also uses the distinction between Brooklyn and Manhattan as well as the bridge in between them to signify thr beginning of his journey and the end.
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some nice observations. The emergence from, and slip back into the tunnel does frame the journey--and the bridge span is the poem's contemplative span. It's not a mirror, btw, but the train window, as it enters the tunnel. It's also important that it is night, Christmas eve, that the speaker has a lot on his mind, incl a relationship that has fallen apart--there is a lot of subtlety in the imagery, and interesting patterns that form, that will be hard to get from a listen--unless you can listen many times, and perhaps transcribe; you will also miss the page layout, which is suggestive--you could say, at a very general level, that the poem is about a "life general," but the conflicts are more specific than that--you've gotten a lot from listening to the poem, though I can't rec. a journal on this, unless you can find a print version. If you decide to spend more time on this, I can bring an HC to class next wk--let me know.
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