Best Drive Back Poems
A canopy of green
Branches overhead
Encase us
As we speed through and around the curvy road
Into the unknown..
X X X X X
The unknown now I know
And never got to see the beautiful trees,
Only drove there to drive back
Another useless day
Arguing, wasting away
A day I'll never get back
Just like last fall
I was excited to see all the different colors
Of the trees as their leaves fall
As they prepare for winter
Who knew death could look so beautiful and alive?
But the same thing happened
Another pointless day
Wasting days
Days I'll never get back
6/15/16
Categories:
drive back, autumn, conflict, depression, heartbroken,
Form:
Free verse
In this time , this town, you'd grow
In this town, this time, you'll feel at home
your poor plenty more than rich enough
to crack the faultline,
your cup half full, half overflowing.
You stretch your legs and wings and mind and laugh
Find friends too easily,
and hand frayed throw cushions
to basement strangers.
But is it your life?
Tomorrow you'll return to the terraced houseboat,
to the gulls and the buoys
and there's a fresh breeze blowing
through fused stamens along the towpath,
coaxing brilliant notes
from your empty letter box
and spinning ancient coins
under a tear-shaped moon.
The chimes are natural now
not flat, not sharp, not late,
not ringing through your dreams like an ice-cream hearse.
He'll phone you at the weekend
She'll pop by with that book, that child, that unfinished thought.
And you'll drink methode champenoise
straight from the bottle
Like winning at Monaco
or from your shoe,
and chase your other lover
upstairs.
Now write a letter to yourself
and copy it to the moon.
Take the ferry to the island
and drive back across
the broad causeway.
In this time , this town, you grow
In this town, this time, you feel at home
Categories:
drive back, growth, time,
Form:
Free verse
Smoke ‘em if you got them.
Save the bottles for return.
That hippie needs a haircut.
What the hell’s a Lady Bird?
My Christmas tree had bubble lights,
My watch lit up at night.
Four-bits for my gasoline
And Cassius won the fight.
Music was a wall of sound.
A Stingray running fast,
Footsteps left upon the moon,
War’s ended, "Peace at Last".
Paychecks from the mills and mines,
From Ford and IBM.
Farming amber waves of grain
That’s how it was back then.
From all around on Friday nights
The hometown crowd, the football lights.
The pom-pom girls would dance and cheer,
I saw you there far so near.
And though my odds were slim & none
I had to try to make my run,
And never look back on the day
I had my chance and walked away.
The party went ‘til midnight,
Coors and California Dip.
The Ventures playing “Pipeline”.
You said “Let's do The Twist!”.
We dated first on New Year's Eve,
I looked into your eyes.
We tied the knot in April,
We made love until July.
But the world and I spun faster then,
You tried to be my rock.
Me, I acted like a fool.
You said “Its time we talk!“.
I thought I was your shining knight
And you my Perfect 10.
Why can't we get back to be just
Like we were back then?
Throughout time there’s joy and pain,
We can't expect things not to change.
When it was time to leave our mark,
Time after time I broke your heart.
The Texas sun goes down again.
A long day's work about to end.
Forty miles to drive back home
Flip on the light and drink alone.
Damned if I know why it all changed,
Wish I could tell you when.
I only wish that I could make it
Like it was back then.
Categories:
drive back, break up, football, heartbreak,
Form:
Rhyme
I grew up in the rockin 60’s
Everything back then was new
Rock ‘n’ roll and Chevy’s
There wasn’t anything we couldn’t do
Hot rod Fords and street drag races
The girls wearing cashmere sweaters
The thrill of youth that showed on faces
That easily laughed at serious matters
Saturday night sock hop dances
Slow dancing with your steady girl
Sneaking a glance at other girls
Thinking maybe next, I will give her whirl
Oh, we had our gangs, punks and hoods
But everything was settled just by fists
Honor was always avenged, as well it should
But black eyes topped the list, not death
Mellow days and careless nights
Drive-in movies, who watched the show?
The heavy petting, and then the fights
“You’re my steady, but that far I won’t go”
The slow drive back to take her home
The sweet goodnight kiss outside her door
The promise that I would never roam
The secret wish she would give me more
Life was tough, and hard to take back then
Or so we thought, but soon would learn
Boys grow up, becoming men
Go places where men die, and bodies burn
It all happened so suddenly
A heartbeat, a blink of the eye
It all happened so viciously
One day to live, next day to die
High school grads, college illusions
Hot rod Fords, and street drag races
And then began the Western Union
“We Regret….” were all the traces
Left of lives that once lived for life
Those that did come home to peace
Now live with lives full of strife
And only wish the pain would cease
Categories:
drive back, war, day, , western,
Form:
Free verse
I lived in the early-mid 70s so very different
being a lonely soul not socially active
lived in the countryside with not a friend
didn't really mind it as made me selective
This was me living my teens/early 20s
loved going to Wimpy bar in the night
after tea drove into town for coke or two
drive back on own this being my plight
When had a lunch break at work during the week
frequent local music shop nearly every day
loved to see what's pop to suit my taste
got posters Blondie, Kate Bush and ONJ
Put them on bedroom wall to gaze upon
sleep away think dreaming on each one
loved local movie house there often
Grease was fab great tunes bar none
It's incredible how things have changed
now musically classical's my top tune
never been to the cinema for 30 years long
till last week for Mary Poppins return with balloon
Now my drink bar is Costa Coffee
still lonely soul at times but my wife
Christine's my best friend eases my load
still, stammer as have all of my life
Big difference now God is with me
never to leave for Jesus sets me free
(Writing a poem describing myself as a teenager/young adult (early 20's)...then being descriptive about my present state for your last few stanzas.)
Categories:
drive back, life, memory, teenage, youth,
Form:
Rhyme
I walk along a shore
far inland from the roar
of two great oceans,
the Pacific to my west,
and much farther away,
the Atlantic to my east.
Here is desert land and a foul-smelling, shrinking lake.
Salt retention - the lake's peculiar claim to fame -
attracts the curious few
who test the brackish waters to see if,
floating on their backs, they really won't sink.
Some tread far out toward the horizon,
salt stinging and painting their legs white.
Here now, alone with the sun and resident gulls,
I own this stretch of sand.
Arid heat creates a desire in me
to wade into the coolness of the water,
but nearing pea-green scum, I opt for staying dry.
Suddenly,
a small wave appears,
and with it, a splash of water on my legs.
I close my eyes.
For a moment, I'm the wisp of a cloud
drifting above a cool lake big as a sea,
mirroring the azure of sky long ago-
so long ago, in fact-
that I imagine this land right now
-with its few creature inhabitants-
has little resemblance to what was here before.
I ponder what it could have been like
those many centuries before, but I cannot.
Alas, I know very little of science or
of how exactly this area looked or felt or smelled
once upon a time
when it was more water than land.
I know only this:
today it is we that remain. . .
I open my eyes,
conscious again of the remnant water's stench,
and walk to my car,
anticipating my drive back to the city,
with the top down
and hot wind in my face.
Categories:
drive back, change, ocean, world,
Form:
Free verse
I like to think all my memories are floating…some separate…some combined…
in an every-deepening ocean…somewhere in the recesses of my mind.
Sometimes as I walk along the shore when sparked by a feel, a taste, a smell…or something I might see…a memory will ride a wave and splash all over me.
Sometimes I scoop up a handful of memories…just to quench my thirst….
Sometimes I’ll wade in slowly…other times…head first.
Yesterday while driving our two eldest grandson’s to the airport…
(they’re off to visit their Texas family)
once we set out on the road…a wave splashed over me.
It was the four of us one summer in North Carolina when they visited for a couple weeks…to spend some time with Deborah and I…
and enjoy those Blue Ridge Mountain peaks.
MC Hammer’s song ‘U Can’t Touch This’ was big that summer…this was the first wave to him by chance…I remember the four of us turning up the volume as around the house we danced.
And here is one of the benefits of having an ocean of memories that over the years are allowed to float free….because in my memory I’m a much better dancer than I am in reality.
Another benefit of having an ocean of memories is how other memories follow that first wave and always make me smile…
as I found myself, while driving, also swimming in them for a while.
We said goodbye to our grandsons at the airport…
hoping they’ll have memories to add to their oceans…
memories they’ll never forget…
for me the drive back home was a pleasant one…
you see…I hadn’t finished swimming yet.
Categories:
drive back, memory,
Form:
Rhyme
Traveling across a countryfied road.
Large hollows furbished of loose
pebbles and twisted roots ascend
from a prominent blue spruce.
Rotting posts, a barbed wired
fence, and pair of Mustangs
racing 'cross a
green pasture toward
ole' woebegone stable,
as a rusted John Deere tractor
pulls away from structure.
Fragmented bottles strewn
along shoulder of roadway, as
I swerve to avoid broken glass
hidden under the sludge.
As lake appears, ducks,
scraggly wildflowers,
clover and yellow milkweeds
bloom with sounds of chortling.
Pods split,
releasing fluffy seeds
like tiny white clouds
stray across a field.
A few scenic miles yet to drive
before arriving at an old lumber mill
for kin's annual festivities
Just one more hill -
should arrive 'bout five.
A long eve lies ahead -
not certain I know any of these families.
Thunder begins rolling 'round.
That's not what weatherman
said! Clouds grow tenebrous,
shadows overlay ground.
Celebration post-poned!
Awe, a pity,
long drive back to city,
but no one has phoned.
Posing near other cars,
Uncle John is leaving
with his cigar,
nodding to me,
as he drives away.
Others begin to follow.
Aunt Milly, her covered dish.
shrugs shoulders, "Not today"
Overhead, barn swallows fly,
finding cover 'neath the eaves,
as rain begins to pour -
a year's reprieve!
Facing the storm with valor -
that rusty tractor in
the rear-view mirror,
slowly vanishes.
Categories:
drive back, family
Form:
Verse
I wonder if it’s that hard?
I am young and full of years.
I walk this beach every day and watch
The tides come in, and drive back out.
Birds fly gracefully above my head and
The breeze blows sand into my face.
My feet sink into the damp out skirt of the shore
And I splash around in the water.
It’s not easy to come across death and not respond
In some sort of way. I am full of energy
And you lay by my side faded away.
Even though you are only a bird
You deserve a proper burial. Your wings have
Insects circling around them. Buz-buz and zzzz.
They are waiting for me to
Go. But I can’t just leave you here.
What if it was me laying here dead?
I would like to think just because I am human
And you are an animal, we are similar.
We both share the same air,
We both need nourishment, we both live and
We both die. I’d like to think if I were you someone
On this planet would care.
You once flew with that sun kissed colored wings
I walk with these porcelain painted legs
As I take off my white zip- up sweater and show you respect
I gently cover you before the rest of the inspectors come.
How you ended up along this beach
Lifeless and deserted, I shall never know.
Maybe you were sick? Or it was just your time.
But I will give you a proper burial
It’s a seed that I must sow
Showing respect for a life
As the tide comes and it goes.
By: Sabina Nicole
Categories:
drive back, bird, death, life, lonely,
Form:
Verse
Stopped for a rest on my drive back home
Got out to stretch my legs
When I got back in I noticed a change
It surprised this hard boiled egg
The gas pedal was closer than it was before
A fact it made me holler
“What's going on? I'm really quite spooked!”
“I must be one foot taller!”
Now I know it's just an old expression
You don't literally stretch your legs
But for someone learning the english language
These nuances are hard to peg
“Cause if the stretching were really true
I'd soon be over eight feet tall
I'd have to build a room with high ceilings
So I don't bump my head and fall!
© Jack Ellison 2013
Categories:
drive back, funny,
Form:
Quatrain
Stopped for a rest on my drive back home
Got out to stretch my legs
When I got back in I noticed a change
It surprised this hard boiled egg
The gas pedal was closer than it was before
A fact it made me holler
“What's going on? I'm really quite spooked!”
“I must be one foot taller!”
Now I know it's just an old expression
You don't literally stretch your legs
But for someone learning the english language
These nuances are hard to peg
“Cause if the stretching were really true
I'd soon be over eight feet tall
I'd have to build a room with extra high ceilings
So I don't bump my head and fall!
© Jack Ellison 2015
Categories:
drive back, silly,
Form:
Quatrain
When I wake up in the morning the first thing that bursts into my head is my love. I don’t think I could ever live without HER, she is my Darling. She is strong and pure; she is my HERO. She is my love, my… You see, our love is unlike any other.
Our day starts when I pick HER up from the corner house on Telfair and Fairfax, she is not cheap and is as pure as pure can be. On the drive back home she sits in my pocket on my lap in HER transparent dress. I like HER tightly concealed because it will be a disaster if any of HER were to spill out. When we step out of the truck she is halfway down my pants and I can’t wait to open the door and throw her on the table…You see, our love is unlike any other.
It's unique how an object like love can fit in the palm of your hands; but our love deserves a better surface, preferably I like to have HER in a spoon. This is where things really heat up; as I bring my red flame underneath HER I know this is what gets HER hot, really hot till she is boiling wet. As my skin waits impatiently for the piercing of flesh, I can’t resist but to suck every drop of her up like a syringe. As my arm embraces HER tourniquet hugs; my body screaming for HER injection It’s been craving…You see, our love is unlike any other.
As we lie together with HER in my arm, I can feel HER love flowing through my veins, in my blood, and in my heart. Now I can finally rest as my head falls back and eyelids slam shut. And if I wake in the morning it will be to the knowledge of HER absence, but it’s OK. I know where to find HER at the corner house on Telfair and Fairfax, that’s where I will pick HER up again… My Darling, My Love, My HEROIN.
Categories:
drive back, addiction, sexy,
Form:
This is a colabration of Shane, Dhruv, and Deborah
Buzz, Buzz
catch the fuzz,
it's all a big fus this buzz,
heros of literature use good buzz words,
knock buzz, it's all a fuz
its time for all this fus,
quarel tantra mantra anger song literature anger jam,
superherores knock before the clock clocks,
superheros do the tantra mantra,
the simple life dance,
with simple talks,
the secret is out,
superheros do coloberate,
colors do shout,
Naga Anthemson talks Naga buzz anthems,
hush, naga can't get rid of this fuzz,
smile and blush like an x o yo,
Naga Anthemson beats the beat,
superheros without second heart beat,
death is angry,
selfless without feet,
Naga, I told you,
Superheros dont beat to shoes,
think of blues,
the times now are a few,
life has feeling with all views,
anger wishes are a struggle beyond screws,
the universe is universally beaten,
you have to take a hit like some jews,
it's not my writing it's beyond my self in your shoes,
Selfless buzz, it's also called a big universally known buzz fuzz fus beat, drew.
Written by Dhruv Pandya
I need a moment of peace so I can see what I need to see,
I know what I need to see definetaley not to lose it, but be a man and try to go through with
it,
I need time alone, we like to call it me time,
no games, no nothing just me time,
focus on my dos and don'ts,
my who and wants,
dont snooze don't cheat ,
just have time to be me
Written by Shane Anonomous.
A towering inferno,
Bursting though my veins,
Anger and venom,
Holding onto me,
with unholy, binding chains,
The driving force is,
Pitch, black, and corse,
A red hot sweat,
From my feet to my neck,
Exploding inside my churning gut,
From the depths of Hell,
This emotion does dwell,
The foulest emotion,
Has become a devotion,
Precognition beyond their ambition,
Like an overcooked steak,
That's burned to a cinder,
Too crisp to eat,
For it tastes like shoe leather,
Red hot poka dots,
Spin through my eyes,
The color of red,
Wrapped around my head,
It's ready to break,
Apart my heart,
For the utmost I know,
Anger you must control,
Drive back that dark force,
To the depths of Hell,
For such a horrific emotion,
Is too dangerous,
To be devotion.
Written by Deborah Jarell
Categories:
drive back, arttime, anger, me, time,
Form:
Verse
When you from New Orleans dey gon do a lot of things.
Dey gon fix it
Dey gon call me
Dey gon go by dey self
Dey gon think about it
Dey gon bring it over here
Dey said dey gon send me a email
Dey gon pick her up after school
Dey gon pay for it
I know dey gon clean dey mess
If dey break it, dey gon buy another one
Dey gon drive back on Friday
Dey gon shut up with all that noise
Dey gon do it tomorrow
Dey gon text me when it’s ready
Dey gon go out and eat
Dey gon drop the charges
Dey gon learn the hard way
I know one thing, dey gon leave me alone
Categories:
drive back, change, feelings, funny, how
Form:
Narrative
I wake up very early, and get out of bed before dawn
My barn animals need to be fed and their water drawn
The steer looks healthy, hope they will bring me some cash
It helps pay the bills and I'm almost out of my only stash
I polish my new boots, black crocodile with fresh spurs
Going out later to impress Susie, hope soon to be hers
Looking forward to some line dancing and riding the bull
Putting on my black Stetson, hoping the bar’s not too full
I see Susie’s eyes sparkle as she waves her pretty hand
Tonight’s looking up, I even like the new Country band
After a few beers, I climb up on the bull and go for a ride
I am in the rodeo competition and have no fear, only pride
I ride the bull several times, laughing with my ranch friends
Susie says yes to slow dancing, hope this night never ends
It’s now getting close to midnight; I must call it a night
I give Susie a quick kiss and we both swoon with delight
I drive back to my cattle ranch feeling happy with a big smile
Thinking this cowboy hasn’t had a good night out in awhile
Kicking off my boots, I head to my bed, it will be dawn soon
Dreaming about the rodeo competition tomorrow afternoon
1/29/2021
Contest: Cowboy Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Line Gauthier
Categories:
drive back, farm, romance,
Form:
Rhyme