Thursday, June 17, 2021

the radio tries to chatter on

through the hot damp hills
of missouri & arkansas
abandoned grain silo rust buckets
holding syncopated beats
as long as possible
storm clouds gathering
looking toward a
drying up by the time
you reach the panhandles
and then new mexico

multitudes of wordsmiths & string pickers
laying out another broken trail
long before & after the last freight cars
took the journey west
starting out like hot steel rails east saint louis
or maybe even further east
straddling the twists & turns of ohio valley
carbon sink holes

when rain hits the ozarks
head for higher ground
the roads will have already
joined the rivers & tornado warnings
most of the radio signals will have gone to ground
keep looking for a ridge road pull away to save you
or an overpass and patience
might be your best stance
watch for stray animals & travelers in need

when there's a break in the sky
the moon & sun may stand alone
sometimes confused
before the stars appear
hydroplane is not a new kind of aircraft
so watch for bottomless hollows
tree limbs
washed out bridges
train whistles
roadhouses
and the first sign of desert buttes

--- e b bortz 

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