Long Interstate Poems
Long Interstate Poems. Below are the most popular long Interstate by PoetrySoup Members. You can search for long Interstate poems by poem length and keyword.
From Chicago to Tampa Bay in a Ford Granada some time in the mid- 70's. Unfortunately, we were not interested in mountains, because we took interstate 75 and drove through Tennessee 'at night'. We felt the elevation but never saw the Smoky Mountains.
As we proceeded south, our four year old kept asking, "Are we there yet?" Can you blame her? We should have had at least one mountain story to tell; and why did we not take time to enjoy the healthy smoke? We arrived in Tampa by way of mostly 'flat lands'.
On another occasion we drove from northern Mississippi to Atlanta. While there, we not only viewed, but also trekked until we grew tired. The visit on 'Stone Mountain' was a good one as we also enjoyed the beautiful water fall.
Fast forward to 1981, and find me driving a '79 chevy chevette from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe. Oh, what a ride! From just above sea level to over 9,000 feet and the worst head ache of my life. Our second child who was then four was on board, but he was head ache free. Nice sceneries, and mountains aplenty, but I should have had my head examined; not because of the elevation, but because I had the audacity to drive a Chevette.
Later in the early 80's with my entire family on board, I headed up another mountain in Marin County, Ca. This time there was plenty of room and power in an 8 cylinder full sized Chevy van. Just beyond the Golden Gate is Mt. Tamalpais, but we never reached the top, because my wife changed her mind.
My most recent mountain experience was a scenic view from a Jumbo Jet. Returning from a vacation by way of Portland, I had a nice view of *Mt. St. Helen 36 years after the mountain blew its top in 1980. No, that does not make me a 'Mountain Man'; but from where I sit 30 feet above sea level, it is rather refreshing.
08052017PSContest, Mountains, Julie Rodeheaver
*Or Was it Mt. Hood?
Life is a Journey
To my brother and sisters as you travel along the high of life, I want you to keep in your mind the road condition. There is going to be rainy days, sunny days, fog that will make it hard for you to see. Let us not forget about the snow and ice that can cause you to slip and fall. Watch out for pot holds and detours that will cause you to get off track.
Along this highway that you are to travel, you are going to meet many others. Some of these people will be going in the same direction; these may prove to be good company, so fellowship. There are going to be some that are standing still on the side of the road or just stranded in need of help or they may be lost. You might want to stop and pull out the old trusted Atlas, that book of books, Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, your Bible. Sharing the word just might save someone.
As you continue to travel down the highway of life, there is going to be people who are going in the wrong direction. These you want to be verrry careful of!!! Help them to turn around if they are willing to listen, but do not let them cause you to crash and burn! Stay focused their direction is detrimental to soul as well as yours so beware!
While you are traveling down the highway of life with your spiritual license, use your knowledge are the wisdom found in your trusted road Atlas, that book of books; Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, the Bible. If your path has been true and your heart has been in your journey, this highway that you have been traveling should bring you to the interstate, the interstate to Heaven.
Beware! This Highway to Heaven is paved with good intentions and if you turn the wrong way, it can easily become hells highway. Stay diligent and strong in the Word and use good judgment in all things that you do.
You will meet many people along the way, some will be Angels in disguise, and others will be demons. The Angels are a blessing, but the demons , well they will offer you free rent with free heat but the costs is very high.
Well I have come to the end of this roadside assistance and I will leave you with this, so keep it next to your heart. Life is a journey so sit back and enjoy the ride. You are in good hands with Jesus!
by randallgraves18@yahoo.com
Econo Lodge sign
High
On
Its
Pylon
Best we can do
For you Tedeschi Trucks
To put a moon in the sky
Over this interstate interchange
Jammed with cars and a decrepit minor league hockey stadium
Advertising the glory days and beer swigging of The Wings
Glows over the deadbeat semis and construction cones
Tearing apart I-94 between Chicago and Detroit
Gleaming casino next city over
Mocking us all by suggesting
I’ll see you over here
The last great guitar players and their dwindling fans
In just a few more years
Yes it’s 2024
And for good our children have left the house
Its couches beds and kitchen table chairs
Like unstraightened frames holding all our wall photographs
Our dog doesn’t mind
Wags his tail with the additional luxury choices
For his many daytime naps
My wife and I look for familiar friends
Though we understand the band are total strangers
During these glorious last 14 years together with us
We don’t want to be creeps to Derek and Susan in love on stage
Though we were the first to love them both up there
I give a hearty wave anyway from the front seats
And I think through the spotlights there’s a smile or wink returned to us
The silhouettes
As the two and their band watch one another
Still mesmerized as they saw and sing the epic Shame
And we the audience smash our hands and shake our tambourine heads
How can the whole world not know more
About this travelling family of musical magic?
We know in our minds they’re the best band in the world
On the scale of Zeppelin or the Stones in their prime
But in the now
And here they are
Still looking good and cool and willing to share something better
Kind enough to stop over
Say hello
Between Red Rocks and Milwaukee
To this little rustbelt university town
Stadium filled only three quarters of the way with 4000 people
I’m sure a sop financially for somebody
But the masterful musicianship we joyfully hear
And we respond with whistles and cheers
As good as anyplace
As loud as ever
Afterward
Outdoors
The Econo Lodge moon buzzes and blinks in our rearview mirror
For our long drive home on I-94
Back to Lansing we go
Chasing breadcrumbs the dotted lines
Our hearts filled our ears ringing
Through the quiet speeding dark.
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 2
act three
in the third act delirious
the laws of physics etc.
he coughs his lungs out
in wheezing jets
internal combustion is internal combustion
his bed of wheels begins to roll
first one wheel then the others
cough cough cough
his wheels roll the length of
NEURO WARD 4's corridor
to the NEURO elevator
and its NEURO music
by now familiar to you
as that song in the head
cough cough cough
3 2 1 doors open out
upon the concrete parking lot
out to Lucille the Oldsmobile
they recognize one another
why no one knows
this is an orphan's tale
composed with the licensed use
of Orphan Guild secrets
raised on the back seat
suckled by giant oranges
weaned on foot long hot dogs
at the nation's roadside
Musella my injection!
act four
in the 4th phantom of the opera
the tank hits empty
his lungs flat and black
as a piece of big rig recap
in desperation piles bricks on seat
heaves bricks back onto concrete
salutes au revoir to the mirror's horizon
and rolls onward
propelled by what is equal
what is opposite
according to St. Newton
the law of the motor
what goes in must come out
seriously Lucille rolls
upon the concrete gridway
steering herself autonomously
everything left to chance
we now know any nightmare
propelled by what is equal and opposite
will roll through the divider
and off the bed-road
Musella vacuums up the glass
and sorts out the tubing
our fugitive lays low by his radio
signal up full
awaiting the footsteps
and stethoscope of Tex Amphora
the archaeologist cowboy surgeon
took my case in a bar stool wager
betting on flesh made perfect
the fool the angel
5 minute intermission
they taught me how to act
onstage I mean in stages
strangers said I'd grow out of it
friends said I'm gonna die from it
there comes a time in a youth's youth
when he discovers
that the machinery on the interstate
can play the sound of skidding wheels
on a Steinway
so
a much needed musical interlude then
acto sexto
From "Engine of Didactic Beauty" available on Amazon
http://tinyurl.com/nhfk6dr
Artist Portfolio: http://walteralter.site11.com/
Life is a Journey
To my brother and sisters as you travel along the high of life, I want you to keep in your mind the road condition. There is going to be rainy days, sunny days, fog that will make it hard for you to see.
Let us not forget about the snow and ice that can cause you to slip and fall. Watch out for pot holds and detours that will cause you to get off track.
Along this highway that you are to travel, you are going to meet many others. Some of these people will be going in the same direction; these may prove to be good company, so fellowship.
There are going to be some that are standing still on the side of the road or just stranded in need of help or they may be lost. You might want to stop and pull out the old trusted Atlas, that book of books, Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, your Bible. Sharing the word just might save someone.
As you continue to travel down the highway of life, there is going to be people who are going in the wrong direction. These you want to be verrry careful of!!!
Help them to turn around if they are willing to listen, but do not let them cause you to crash and burn! Stay focused their direction is detrimental to their soul as well as yours so beware!
While you are traveling down the highway of life with your spiritual license, use your knowledge and the wisdom found in your trusted road Atlas, that Book of books; the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, the Bible.
If your path has been true and your heart has been in your journey, this highway that you have been traveling should bring you to the interstate, the interstate to Heaven.
Beware! This Highway to Heaven is paved with good intentions and if you turn the wrong way, it can easily become hells highway. Stay diligent and strong in the Word and use good judgment in all things that you do.
You will meet many people along the way, some will be Angels in disguise, and others will be demons. The Angels are a blessing, but the demons , well they will offer you free rent with free heat but the costs is very high.
Well I have come to the end of this roadside assistance and I will leave you with this, so keep it next to your heart.
Life is a journey so sit back and enjoy the ride. You are in good hands with Jesus
Their dad had had a heart attack
since they had seen him last.
In May they said, "Let's visit him,
cuz time's a passing fast."
He doesn't drive, he sold his car
so he'll not come to us.
and we can take some time off work
without a lot of fuss.
They lived in Utah, near that lake,
where faithful Mormons pray.
They planned to use the Interstate,
I-80, all the way.
Their pop had picked Nevada hills
where pines pushed out the sage,
to settle with his younger bride
and cuss the curse of age.
'Twas for the second week in may,
the two had made their plans.
The day they left, the skies let go
to fulfill God's demands.
The thunder crashed, the lightning flashed,
(a phrase perhaps quite trite)
and yet by later afternoon
it seemed a lot like night.
The wipers flopped a steady beat;
their speed was set on high.
The rest-stop at the salt flats though
they found completely dry.
They never thought that strange at all,
just thankful for respite;
they took their time and took a pee,
then took the exit right.
They started up, turned on the lights
and then the wipers too,
for twenty seconds from that stop
the rain began anew!
They never stopped in Wendover,
(a city in two states),
as still it rained like cats and dogs,
or maybe sheets and plates.
"Pull over at the next rest stop;
I have a need to pee",
said Bob. They did, and once again,
'twas dry as it could be.
But shortly as they left that place
the rain had turned to sleet,
and horizontal lightning strikes
were scary, although neat.
Then at the peak the road was ice
it seemed three inches thick,
and both boys knew this drive would be
most anything but quick.
Then at the next rest area
where they stopped for relief
the parking lot was smooth and dry
and fair beyond belief!
They stood and stretched and grinned I guess,
as each of their jaws dropped.
Bizarrely, this continued on
at each and every stop.
In Reno, it was shirt-sleeve mild;
their pop was pleased as punch -
They visited and ate and drank,
and shot the **** a bunch.
"Now boys, don't take so long before
you visit me again -
just let me know you're comin', and
and I'll control the rain."
© Lawrencealot, May 11, 2015
I was alone
Travelling Interstate 80
Following the route of the early Western pioneers
2900 miles across the midsection of America
Stretching from the East Coast to California
In Utah home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The land becomes flat and straight
Large signs on the edge of the road
Warn drivers about fatigue and drowsiness
Tired and hungry
I drove on
Watching shadows move in the sunlight
Day turning into night
On an empty highway
Finally I stopped at a place off the road.
An old woman showed me around
Small talk
On a warm evening
Life is a delusion she said
Young man
There are terrible people out there
You ought to be careful
Cause you’re young you know.
The room was small
Fan cutting through the humid air
Telephone ringing in an empty room
Lights flickered
In the shadows
She pointed to a spot
Where an old man died
We kept the shabby couch she said
Too expensive to throw out
Out Here
We’re as practical
And frugal as the Mormons
So we kept it.
No sense in thinking about it any more
She whispered
The more you think
The more mixed up you get
Besides it’s wide
A bed for two and very comfortable.
I tried paying for the room
She looked in my face
Searching for something
Then down at the crumpled bills in my hand
Wetting her fingers she counted the money
I don’t know if you kids have everything
Or you have nothing
Time and experience will tell
I guess
Then she handed some of the money back to me
I don’t need that much
Beside it’s only money Son
That’s all it is
Life is short
You hold on to it
You’ll need it later
I looked puzzled
She smiled
We all have our secrets.
I was up early next morning
When the old woman appeared
I figured you’d be leaving soon she said
Heading West?
Yes I replied
Going to look for family out there?
No just myself
Afraid?
A little
Lightly touching my arm she said
Don’t be afraid. You’re young. There’s always been magic in a young heart
The roads are clear this time of morning.
Ride straight and you’ll do fine.
The engine revved up
I was moving at 60, then 70, then 80
Windows wide open
Wind pouring in
Not another car on the road
I was alive
I was free
The morning belonged to me.
Life is a Journey
To my brother and sisters as you travel along the high of life, I want you to keep in your mind the road condition. There is going to be rainy days, sunny days, fog that will make it hard for you to see. Let us not forget about the snow and ice that can cause you to slip and fall. Watch out for pot holds and detours that will cause you to get off track.
Along this highway that you are to travel, you are going to meet many others. Some of these people will be going in the same direction; these may prove to be good company, so fellowship. There are going to be some that are standing still on the side of the road or just stranded in need of help or they may be lost. You might want to stop and pull out the old trusted Atlas, that book of books, Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, your Bible. Sharing the word just might save someone.
As you continue to travel down the highway of life, there is going to be people who are going in the wrong direction. These you want to be verrry careful of!!! Help them to turn around if they are willing to listen, but do not let them cause you to crash and burn! Stay focused their direction is detrimental to soul as well as yours so beware!
While you are traveling down the highway of life with your spiritual license, use your knowledge are the wisdom found in your trusted road Atlas, that book of books; Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, the Bible. If your path has been true and your heart has been in your journey, this highway that you have been traveling should bring you to the interstate, the interstate to Heaven.
Beware! This Highway to Heaven is paved with good intentions and if you turn the wrong way, it can easily become hells highway. Stay diligent and strong in the Word and use good judgment in all things that you do.
You will meet many people along the way, some will be Angels in disguise, and others will be demons. The Angels are a blessing, but the demons , well they will offer you free rent with free heat but the costs is very high.
Well I have come to the end of this roadside assistance and I will leave you with this, so keep it next to your heart. Life is a journey so sit back and enjoy the ride. You are in good hands with Jesus!
For some reason
I really like to drive,
and ever since I was sixteen,
when I get behind the wheel
feel free and alive...
Only once had an accident
when I was seventeen,
pulling out too fast of the driveway,
into my parents car I careened,
thank God it was minor damage
and my Dad was able to pop
the dent out with a hammer,
got a stern look and talking to
but kept me out of the slammer,
Have driven some Dodges and Chevy
cars in the past, but lately drive
a Ford Focus because its
much better on the gas...
Have driven in about all of the
states on the east coast,
and when I go once a year
to visit some family
its destination L.I., New York,
Out west have driven through
Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona
and even California,
reason being my husband
back then went to a school
called UTI in Phoenix, Arizona...
Probably the most traveled
interstate in the east being I-75 and I-24,
which is one of the biggest
trucking routes that I know of by far,
and I truly admire truck drivers
driving their 18 wheelers
up and down the highways and interstates,
they just scare me a bit
when they get too close,
driving as if my car was
truck driver bait...
I even thought once about
becoming a truck driver
but that was a fleeting idea
that lost most of its appeal,
because the more I thought of it
wouldn't really like that career,
especially since they're all
probably pretty heavy from
constantly being behind the wheel,
and when I stop at those truck stops
I can't help but notice,
that the truck drivers not only
buy toothpaste for their teeth,
but also preparation H
for their hemorrhoids...
My son and I just came home
from Chattanooga, Tenn.,
and thank God we both
arrived home safely and in one piece,
because even though I love to drive
can't understand why people
fly by me doing 80 like in an emergency,
unless someone in the car
has to use a restroom or
is about to deliver a baby...
and lately when I drive
around Moccasin Bend
feel a little more on edge
and on the offensive,
because its like driving on the autobahn
or being in the Indy 500!
Remember, don't text and drive because you want to arrive alive…:)
P.S. Happy 60th Birthday Interstate System!
Oh, yes, angels are real ...
Late fall of 1974, just after Halloween -
I was driving home from prep school one Friday afternoon,
After a long week of intense studies and soccer ...
On Interstate 295 between Yarmouth and Falmouth.
I had just pulled into the left lane to pass a tractor-trailer truck,
And ... BAM!!
A loud bang like a shot gun!
The car was immediately uncontrollable,
So I knew at once I'd blown the left front tire ...
I slammed on the brakes and pulled into the median strip,
Far enough so it wouldn't bother traffic,
But with enough shoulder that I could still change the tire,
(Which I had done more than once before).
Only as soon as I opened the trunk and checked,
I discovered, to my chagrin, that the "spare" tire was flat also!
I knew then I was in for a long, tiring afternoon,
So I put out two markers, left the trunk open so folks would know,
Turned on the emergency flashers, locked it up,
And started my long walk back to town, (about three miles).
Oh, people still hitch-hiked a lot in those days,
But I'd been raised to believe it was dangerous,
So I kept my thumbs tucked into my straight-leg corduroys.
All-in-all it took almost three hours to walk back,
Call home for a ride, wait for my mom to come after me,
And get back to where the car was on the highway ...
But when we finally DID get to the car, there was a surprise ...
Waiting to greet me was a brand new tire, already installed on the car,
Another new tire in the trunk where the spare had been,
And when I went to get into the car and head home,
A fifty-dollar-bill had been stuffed up into the door handle!!
With only a Christian fish symbol written on it!
I ran an ad in the local paper the following week,
Then they did a small story on it,
But I NEVER found out who had blessed me that day.
Yet, I never forgot it, either, and to this day ...
I always pay for the two-or-three cars behind me,
Whenever I go through the toll booth on the highway ...
And when I DO, I think of that angel ...
And I say a prayer for them ...
For I know they got as much of a blessing from it as I did ...
Well ... maybe not QUITE as much! ;-)