Kerouac Dreams ( with apologies to littlewing...and Jack )

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icebox
Member Elite

since 2003-05-03

Posts 4383
in the shadows

0 posted 2019-01-27 04:35 PM

It was a century
just out of short pants
not yet long in the tooth,
when time ticked
radios hummed
phones were shared,
TV was a toy for the rich
when a president bought highways
strong enough
to land heavy bombers,
and the government
hadn't yet tripped on a lie;

it was a country
where half the roads still weren't paved
where license plates were essential
for driving in town,
where air didn't come
with conditions
where too many still dreamed
of real luxury
like toilets that flushed
indoors,
of electricity
that worked
every day;

it was streets
with three dollar rooms
that were clean
two dollar "ladies"
fifty cent wine
twenty cent gas
and cigarettes
for five cents a pack;

a place where Bukowski could survive
on one candy bar a day,
where getting drunk wasn't a choice
it was a religion
and the local bull
thought he was a liberal
for letting us choose
on which side of town
we were dropped off;

it was a world
where growing old
meant getting by,
where growing up
meant becoming invisible,
like trash
in a garbage strike
in New York City
in the rain.

©2007, 2019 by icebox

Bluesy Socrateaser
Member Elite

since 2002-11-07

Posts 2417
In The Mirror

1 posted 2019-01-27 05:18 PM

Charter members of the 'Dead Poets Society'.

Lot's of well-known reminisces...

What? No horse & buggy?

https://99percentinvisible.org/article/cities-paved-dung-urban-design-great-horse-manure-crisis-1894/

...just bein' Bluesy

Michael

Moderator

Member Rara Avis

since 1999-08-13

Posts 7666
California

2 posted 2019-01-27 07:11 PM

Beautifully penned. love the wistful imagery.

Lori Grosser Rhoden
Member Patricius

since 2009-10-10

Posts 10202
Fair to middlin' of nowhere

3 posted 2019-01-27 08:25 PM

Your blast to the past was a great trip, the landing in NYC in the rain was disturbing. I like the edge you put on this one. Excellent top to bottom. ~L

icebox
Member Elite

since 2003-05-03

Posts 4383
in the shadows

4 posted 2019-01-28 11:47 PM

Thank you all for your thoughts and your time.

Marchmadness
Member Rara Avis

since 2007-09-16

Posts 9271
So. El Monte, California

5 posted 2019-02-22 09:16 PM

Yes, there are still a few of us left to remember. Well done, Mister Ice.

2islander2
Member Ascendant

since 2008-03-12

Posts 6825
by the sea

6 posted 2019-02-22 10:52 PM

such an excellent poem, nostalgic and modern too, enjoyed
yann

bbynams
Junior Member
Posts 49

7 posted 2019-03-09 06:59 AM

You know what I think? I think you should call it... The Alarm Clock. I disagree about the imagery being disturbing, but at the same time, you're asking a lot of the reader. What you should assume, icebox, for what it's worth, is that I thought it was very honest.

Paul Wilson

Member Elite

since 2002-07-07

Posts 4711
United States

8 posted 2019-03-09 08:56 PM

Icebox...In a self gratifying sort of way I wish those hands of time would have gotten stuck in some ways we would be better off if we still had some of those values and memories. Enjoyed...Paul

~~To share my poems with you is to share my heart with you~~
Paul

Sunshine

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-25

Posts 63354
Listening to every heart

9 posted 2019-04-16 09:53 AM

Dang....it's good to read you!

Joyce Johnson

Member Rara Avis

since 2001-03-10

Posts 9912
Washington State

10 posted 2019-04-17 03:06 PM

Yes, I remember this world. Only I lived on a farm in North Dakota without modern conveniences but had a happy childhood. I didn't know I was deprived. Joyce

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