
A Road Lesser Traveled
Ray Van Horn, Jr.
glass shards crying phantasmagoria along the crackled asphalt
outraged brio against the tumbling Twinkie wrappers and flattened Wendy’s cups
a goddess without offerings, much less a flock,
her name thrice changed, the same for her pantheon
a 60 mile an hour highway built upon three-second rule empathy,
opening a lane closure leading to the heart
the first t.v. Superman undone by a matchless brand of kryptonite,
Reeves dispatched by a fading monochrome
the color-washed, lone video single from a cult metal band,
given its lone play decades ago between Bon Jovi and Def Leppard
the art of doing a solid,
much less dropping a thank you
the perpetual duel between poet and espresso machine
a throughway toll paid in blood
love without pretense
the word “agreement” prefaced by harmony
decorum where the “n” word is still taboo
the swallow of a cold, starry night sky,
gorging humanity back into its measured condition
an idiosyncratic signature done in cursive,
instead of through an e-bot
the same applying to self-eroticism
folks who know what comes next after “Hey hey hey!”
or, for that matter, “My country, ‘tis of thee…”
a smile,
giving even the most desperate a sense of worth
And look at you being all artsy and mystical.
You did good. You did really good. 💚
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awwwww, thank you, Towint. My poetry has needed a jumpstart after many long years of futility. I used to do open mike events years ago and miss my crew from those days. This one felt like the mojo of those times. I appreciate your kind words!
LikeLike