Friday, November 6, 2009

Poem for Friday, November 6, 2009


Warsaw

coasting southeast down I-40
        I was waking up from groggy backseat dreams
when I saw this 18-wheeled beast
        a tarnished white truck out of Warsaw, IL
I thought of the Poles first and how
        the driver could be hauling kielbasa
to some fried food Epicurians

picking up some speed to pass
        poetry books weighing down my lap
I clenched my fist and angled my elbow
        bobbed it up and down with force but
the driver stayed straight-sighted, no honk
        heeded to the trucker code
this wasn't an emergency, just a curious kid

thinking back, I never saw his face
       he rode open window with his left arm out
wind-kissed and faded fabric
        a regular Joe on a mission to
truck stops with apple pie and pay phones
       then on to deliver those tasty
Polish sausages to Bohemians and rednecks

       thinking back, I never saw his face
       but he wanted to escape        that town
       he'd had his taste of Warsaw and
       Warsaw was raW

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