Listen to poem:
Pondering the Pavement
Written: October 24, 2025, for a contest sponsored by: John Lawless
Quote: "If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one." – Dolly Parton.
I walk where alabaster dreams
crack beneath meaty boots,
where the clangor of trade
caterwauls across aphonic lanes,
and the pale, spotted road surface
broods akin to a beleaguered bard.
Every slab a palimpsest—
an antediluvian archive
among fervent lovers and mortal souls,
ambivalent in their appetite,
trembling with ambition
Still yearning for soothing escape.
The breathing of the city is ambrosial and acrid.
a byzantine mix of bromide and pleasure,
its golden glow at dusk,
Aurora emerging from the gutters
with dazzling shine
and brilliant deception.
I wander around its undulating contradiction,
this road surface bearing
Burden for Barefoot Prophets
and bumptious brokers alike.
Its coating gleams,
a beacon in the dimness.
For the demure and the downcast.
Alchemy abounds here—
in the manner of the formless harm
of asphalt transforms
into footfall efflorescence,
every syllable of each phase
in the ariose aria of the city.
I witnessed the magical appendix.
of fantasies to dust,
the transitory epiphany
of a dandelion brave
to differ across concrete,
Halcyon resistance of destiny.
And I marvel--
Should the pavement speak,
Would it anathemize our rush?
Or murmur a sonorous hymn.
for the merry and the laden,
for those who stroll
not to arrive,
To recall, nevertheless.
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
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a
Premium Membership.
