Ins and Outs Part 1
Author's note: This is an epic length poem that will have to be split into parts and will be serialized in successive posts.
PART 1
the highway's double line snakes in
and out of my headlights
they searchlight the lanes
for a motel pool TV free ice
a sign widens from nothing
then vanishes in the rear view past
the unseen history is much larger
can run you off the road
even if you are looking
turns bearings into iron filings
until the wheels come off
diagramming the pavement
spinning screeching scraping
his scream is his epitaph:
UNCONTRITE!
beneath the chassis flayed radials
churning plowing tumbling
windows crushed into diamonds
gouging up brush and burrow
small animals flee the inverted V8
but the harbinger tongue of DelphI
falls short of its fated mark
invoking more throat than brow
with its post-Olympian thunderbolt
as dirt geysers settle with a billowing hiss
and quiet returns to the orchard of the damned
his one remaining sealed beam
still lit on poor rent earth
swinging from its fender socket
by a web of circus wires
chrome ring gone
battery hanging out
wipers pretzled and knotted
radiator exploded into curls of steam
fenders corrugated undulating
yet all the lights
dash dome deck door
are alive and the radio
naturally it is on
naturally it is a top 40 offering
still alive on NEURO WARD 4
car and operator auto de fe
needing a clue he searches
the face of his nurse Musella
she hums a lullaby chant
from the age of Innocence
Lucille the Oldsmobile
undecipherably rendered
by top 40 grand pianist Little Ricardo
whose connection to the theater
makes the night a stage
act one
a mysterious then delirious
yet serious vision
the first of a series
eyes open wide open
no room for the boatman's fare
on this horizontal panorama
where the 3-D effect
the kiss of life
the flame of reason
and all the world's ills
are caused by crackling static
no one hears it
very delirious serious mysterious
the sprockets of the Gods unwind
second act action
act two
Musella sees the light on the panel
answers the buzz
oh, mon cher you look as though
you have seen a ghost
have you seen the ghost
his face his mask
she places the mask
over his reconstructed face
both smiling and drooling
underneath the surgical cotton
TO BE CONTINUED
From "Engine of Didactic Beauty" available on Amazon
http://tinyurl.com/nhfk6dr
Copyright © Walter Alter | Year Posted 2017
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment