Poem
#5, #6, & #7—Yes, I’ve skipped a few days as I’ve been on the road now, but
we are back home. The poems should flow daily now that I’m not traveling.
66 Mother Road Kicks
A
boy studies the Arizona map
And it
is as lightening zaps
His brain
a tingle
As he
mingles
Facts
and road descriptions
With
questions and fictions
Finding
more and more to ask
As he
kicks back
Looking
out the window
On this
spring furlough
Grandma
takes the wheel
Her partnership
with him is another appeal
On this
road adventure
Having
her to himself was the clencher
They
sped past well known towns
Because
they knew they’d circle back around
First
stop Ash Fork where she once taught
By
the side of the road there were native clay pots
Seligman
there were some old stands
Now hollow
and empty spread across the land
Peach
Springs sounded refreshing
But
he said there wasn’t anything there eye catching
Valentine
could have been full of loves
He heard
nothing but the coo of morning doves
Hackberry
sounded juicy to me
It
was still as empty as could be
Kingman
was their overnight stop
The
essential road motel couldn’t be topped
The
trip picked up as they went on
Lake
Havasu City held a huge pond
They
went back and forth on the London Bridge
That
was suspended over a water filled ridge
Oatman
was full of borros
To
be ridden over the dust filled furrows
They
crossed over to Needles, California briefly
He
was excited to hit another state chiefly
Back
through Williams, Winona, and Two Guns,
Humming
along they had lots of fun,
Talking
of politics, modern tricksters galore,
Never
stopping at any stores,
That
didn’t matter when he went to Winslow,
Where
the train crossed the tracks rather slow,
There
was a big hole there to see,
As that
is where the big meteor be,
A
space program trained there,
He
studied the details to care,
He
met his parents again in Flagstaff,
He
said not missing them one wit,
His
eyes sparkling
As the
sky was darkening
He
didn’t want grandma to go
As this
had been her show
The old
roadside curiosities
Felt
like a trip of impetuosities
That
bonded young and old
A coin
not to be sold
We hope
he will keep
When
her life is complete
A road
traveled together
Makes
everything so much better
Dawned
Darkness
illuminated by a crescent
Looking
like an ear with dangling star earring
Haziness
of light as an iridescent fog
Suspended
as a net waiting to catch
All the
thoughts that have flowed
During
an all-night talk
Of two
people that
Couldn’t
stop talking
Because
the freedom
Of past
discovery
Thought
not new
Was healing
That
spot
Which
no longer bled
No more
lead all purpose
To push
through
What
was to
what
could be
Or
scrubbing clean
What
had been
The
first ray spikes
As a
strong spine
Where
limbs grow
As the
sun spreads
Stretching
her influence
A sprout
reaches up
Nodding
to the ray’s warmth
The truth
shared
It
raises up our heads
To know,
to glean
What
is deep in our cores
The sun
shares space with moon’s head
And star’s
jeweled jealousy
A few
tears shed to water
The deep
roots that are already there
Feeding
the plant that turns its face
Towards
the warmth
Showing
the bloom
That
was waiting
Among
the thorns
And cracked
earth
Transforming
dessert dweller
To prized
beauty
As it
dawns
On her
what was, is,
And
is to come
From
patchy clouds
To clear
intense morning light
Verdant Vacation
“You
need to go on a vacation,”
“I
know,” was always my reply
I’d
look forward to time to myself
And spying
on a piece of the world
That
wasn’t my home
But belonged
to somewhere in my soul
I’d
picture each stop
What
I’d look for
Where
I’d find
Just
the right thing, food, or fun,
And
I’d say, ”Hon, could you just scratch that spot?”
It
would be glorious
In my
mind, always
Then
I would drag back
Monday
morning slapping me awake
Thinking
to myself, “Oh for pity’s sake
What
did we do?
What
have I done?”
And “I
cannot go on.”
Groaning
all the way into work
Then
some co-worker beams at me
“Welcome
back! How was it?”
And I
cock my head with coquettish grin remembering,
“It
was great!”
They
quip, “Need a vacation from your vacation, huh?”
“Just,”
I sigh
Keeping
close those indescribable treasures
Where
day dreams met expectations
My
body bids for more of that
As it
pushes through
The pushpins
of places marked
On my
home map
Tacked
to my globe
That
spins in my mind
Searching
for that next vacation
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