Sidney Beck Poet Quatrain

Music To Drive By

MUSIC  TO   DRIVE    BY

Manitoba.  Dashboard music.  The west ahead.
At last the sun is gone  - relax my eyes.
Kinda   half-dozing,  eyelids  of lead.
Now  slow  love songs, with  lots of sighs.

At  last  DJ  plays  a  quick-time wake-up piece  -
Jerry Lee with Chantilly Lace  - 
And  I reach for the the volume  increase : 
Heavier foot  on gas pedal picks  up the pace.

Kristofferson now with Bobby McGee :
In the dusk I start to sing along, all smiles.  
Window down - cold  air wakes me,
The  rig  starts to consume the miles.

Two hundred to go and  alone on the road. 
Distant lights:  some small town  -
Feel  the wind  push  as  I ease the heavy load  -
Maybe it’s Brandon,  of  only  local renown.

Now Manitoba   - pool-table flat -  disappears, 
And the  prairie landscape has a slight rise:
Grab the  stick and shift  down  the  gears,  
Saskatchewan  surely  ahead  now  lies.

To   Indian Head   -   Arlo Guthrie helps me make it:
Listen  to  last  verse   of   City of New Orleans:
Pull in to the Voyageur  Truckstop;   hiss;  brake it.
Steak, eggs, hash browns, coffee:  that’s what it means.

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Carolyn Devonshire February 15, 2011 at 10:48 AM What a delight to share this sing-along drive with you, Syd! I have always loved Arlo Guthrie's City of New Orleans (Willie Nelson has a nice version of it too). And Kris Kristofferson is SOOO handsome - he rocks my world and makes my heart melt. Thanks for telling me about this poem, dear. Love, Carolyn