The spring after work
on the highway ended
I came back
and spoke with the cashier
a lady at the gas station
as if a friend.
The morning awakened
with snippets of conversation.
I stood at the counter.
As if we could pick up
where we left off last fall.
Other assignments waited.
The burnt smell of coffee
lingered inside.
Locals came in for a cup.
Conversations of locals filled the air
and they treated her like a daughter
while light of the new sun shone.
She said that now she was going
with the mechanic in town.
Tires of passing cars and semis sang.
derecho of twenty-twenty-three
the sky got black in the afternoon
many people ignored the sirens
their houses began to shake and squeal
intense praying and screaming began
the lights went off, power lines were snapping all over town
there were sparks all along the freeways
the dreaded dastardly derecho was here
unlike a tornado, this wind was a straight tunnel
sixty miles wide, two hundred and fifty miles long
people stopped videotaping and ran to their bathtubs
throwing their children in first, lying on top of them
roofs were torn off
semis were lifted and tossed
landing upside down and sideways
in minutes our town was turned into a war zone
uprooted trees were sliding down the sidewalks
this enemy was fierce and determined
many of us did not expect to survive
hugging strangers after the aftermath
Oh, drive me please where I can gaze
Upon the fields of sheep a’graze
Or taking time to dream and laze
On blankets green and grassy.
So far from New York’s jam-packed roads
With cars and semis schlepping loads,
Ignoring all the traffic codes,
The drivers bold and brassy.
A bold reminder are the sheep
That every baa instead of beep
Allows your soul the chance to keep
Its outlook soft and sassy.
my dog, Beau loves Rex the TV dog detective from Canada
his head turns from side to side as he watches Rex
This dog is always in a precarious situation
Having to climb over semis and bridges to jump bad guys
Bad guys with guns who have horrible aim, never hitting Rex
Remnants of the 1960’s tv show called Lassie
Beau is barking instructions to Rex now, warning him.
It is hilarious to watch.
Often times Beau tries to climb up the cabinet into the TV
More entertaining than the times he catches himself in the mirror
Or barks warnings to his own reflection in our shiny credenza.
More later, Beau and I are on the edge of our seats. Rex is in trouble.
Several semis have jack-knifed
The blizzard has made the air fog-like
Highway patrol has closed the interstate down
Electric cars cannot run in this weather
There is treacherous black ice
Many pile ups of cars, some injured, eight dead
Frostbite is waiting around the corner to set in
Tell me again why we live in the Midwest?
black ice is silent
unseen until its too late
red semis jackknife
Of ocean’s roar, dark tales are told
Of swimmers dragged into its fold
Incautious choices, foolish-bold
Ne’er seen again, their bells have tolled
Of hairpin turns on mountain roads
Huge semis bid farewell to loads
Then likely starts an avalanche
Once boulders fall, they can’t be stanched
When life’s not valued, thrown away
To God we turn and fervent pray
~ Iambic Tetrameter ~
the ominous gray and black skies have moved away
three cars have crashed on this torrential rainy day
there is consternation and drama on this highway
ambulances are trying but semis are in the way
down by the creek an elderly lady is up to her neck in water
her red Lincoln is flooded, so she calls her oldest daughter
seven inches of rain in an hour has taken a toll
the grass is a swamp, survival is truly the goal
wet furry animals make way in the grass for a snake
I love this! He tells them, as they shiver and shake.
the rain has stopped, but the damage has been done.
This is an April Nebraska day when we will not see any sun.
Freezing rain on roads
semis flying like nothing
white knuckling wheel
CARABAO SEMIS
Middlesbrough,
They are very dull
So, the final is sure.
Though trophy unsure
Cos Liverpool will score.5
ChelseaFC might cry sore.
I hope we hit 'em wit a four.
This climax screams encore...
Chelsea, please make us proud,
So as to shine among the crowd.¹°
¤VICK MANUEL POETRY {VMP}
FORM: Rhymes
Copyright ©?21st December 2023.
A period here. a question mark there?
A handful of commas,,,tossed in the air
To fall all willy-nilly but he doesn't care.
Then he closes his eyes so he never sees,
And does it again with apostrophe's.
Next colons: and semis; are put through their paces,
And are frequently found in the oddest of places.
Quotations are more than just dressing or stuffing,
Yet often appear when "nobody said nuffing".
It makes reading a chore just to try to adhere
To a writer's directions of what to do where,
But you barrel on through 'til you get to the end,
Give your eyes time to uncross,
And then try it again.
Some poets abjure punctuation, for sure,
And though not a big fan,
I'm a reasonable man.
e e cummings, for example,
Responds to the call
By using little or no punctuation at all.
Author's note: To quote the author Cormac McCarthy: "If you write properly you shouldn't have to punctuate." Poets such as e e cummings, et al, apparently took him up on that. Please understand, dear reader, that this piece is punctuated incorrectly to make a point. And I blush to admit that I, myself, am overly fond of "quotation marks" and…ellipses.
so annoying
when a wreck happens
on the interstate
I always watch the semis
When they vie for the fast lane
I do too
Using their highway prowess
Except this time two were wrong
They led me into a lane that did not move
Six cars were off,
All apparently hitting each other.
A Chevy comes roaring up from behind
The driver must be good.
The front end is all bashed it
As he passes me I see his back end is all bashed in too
I give him as much room as I can
Admiring the way he slid into a tiny spot made for half a car
Bridge requires a square table
With a player on each side.
Exchange your greenback dollars
For slot machine quarters to provide.
A basketball team that hoops it up well
May make March Madness semis for a spell.
Pro golfers hit the greens in two pairs
Driving and putting to crowds gaping stares.
Mom and pop and two wee tots
All enjoying fresh pop tarts.
Brilliant fireworks adorn the sky
On Independence Day in July.
Football games divide in fifteen-minute parts
Broken up by uneven stops and starts.
By now you need read no more
Count the quatrains to sum the title score.
Yellow Submarine comes on the radio.
Beatles music.
I press the accelerator, flying past semis who had been chasing each other.
Little Old Lady from Pasadena comes on next.
I go insane, setting a new world record for speed.
Mama Cass’s voice comes out of that radio.
It is ON!
Shades of my youth
When I blew two engines out of two cars.
Because I was that girl.
Brontosaurus boogie, stomp, stomp, stomp
Higher than your ceiling, tromp, tromp, tromp.
As long as two semis, honk, honk, honk.
Let’s hold it on the freeway, bonk, bonk, bonk.
Brontosaurus cousins, laugh, laugh, laugh
Introduced to sisters, aft, aft, aft.
Swishing cars off freeway, crash, crash, crash.
Brontosaurus boogie, mash, mash, mash.
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