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Open Poetry #46
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JerryPat
Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991
Louisiana/America

0 posted 2010-10-31 08:31 AM


Big rig driver made a stop that cold night,
To top off with diesel and eat a bite,
Headed to El Paso with a full load,
On a south Texas dreary mountain road.

She stood to the side of the cafe's door,
Averted his eyes, thought her out to score.
After his meal, he drank a cup of joe,
Finished the coffee and paid what he owed.

She was still there, bent against the cold wind,
Please, Mister, she said, I just need a friend.
He did a double take; she was with child,
A desperate soul as she tried hard to smile.

He loaded her up inside his warm cab,
She said, Thank you, and her stomach she grabbed.
He went back inside for something to eat,
She gobbled it up and said aren't you sweet.

Now that she was there, what was he to do?
He timidly asked her when are you due?
She said there was no family or friends,
No one in the world for her to depend.

In the mountain range of Guadalupe,
Her labor began, she asked him to pray.
He pulled off the road and shut the rig down,
It was much too far to get to a town.

The baby was coming, it would not wait,
She in the sleeper awaiting her fate,
He tried to help, but it was just his luck,
They were both stuck out there in his old truck.

The blood soaked everything, even her screams,
There was no water, not even a stream.
The baby came and mother died on cue,
How he got through it all he never knew.

He held the squealing, bloody baby girl,
And something inside him started to swirl.
The babe started out, the odds against her,
The blood-spattered child was only a cur.

In El Paso he made all the right stops,
Hospital for child, and they called the cops.
Mother buried in potter's field so sad,
He claimed the child, saying he was her dad.

. . . and the Raven said, %!~#&(&#!$!

© Copyright 2010 Jerry Pat Bolton - All Rights Reserved
passing shadows
Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577
displaced
1 posted 2010-10-31 09:28 AM


nice to see you again

JerryPat
Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991
Louisiana/America
2 posted 2010-10-31 09:51 AM


Thank you passing shadow. Good seeing you too.
Cpat Hair
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Patricius
since 2001-06-05
Posts 11793

3 posted 2010-10-31 09:56 AM


nicely told story...
enjoyed your telling

JerryPat
Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991
Louisiana/America
4 posted 2010-10-31 09:58 AM


Thank you, Cpat Hair, glad you liked it.

. . . and the Raven said, %!~#&(&#!$!

Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart
5 posted 2010-10-31 07:07 PM


A very sad tale; makes me wonder
how you came about to writing it...
and the wondering is always a good thing.

And quite possibly, just the right tone
for this day.

Thank you!

JerryPat
Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991
Louisiana/America
6 posted 2010-10-31 07:12 PM


Sunshine, thank you. I was talking to a trucker a few years ago and he told me about the time his wife, who also helped him drive the big rig, came in labor out in the middle of nowhere and he had to deliver the baby. I've thought about that story off and on for all these years (about seven) and finally, when the time was right, the poem was born. Now I'm thinking about using it to begin a novel about the trucker and the baby he delivered. Thank you for your interest.

. . . and the Raven said, %!~#&(&#!$!

JamesMichael
Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336
Kapolei, Hawaii, USA
7 posted 2010-10-31 07:27 PM


Fine writing...James
JerryPat
Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991
Louisiana/America
8 posted 2010-10-31 07:31 PM


Thank you James, I appreciate your take on the poem.

. . . and the Raven said, %!~#&(&#!$!

Eusta B. Mae
Senior Member
since 2010-05-03
Posts 903

9 posted 2010-11-02 02:15 PM


Good stuff! Enjoyed. ebm
JerryPat
Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991
Louisiana/America
10 posted 2010-11-02 02:55 PM


I am happy that you found the story of the trucker and the woman to your liking, ebm. Thank you.

. . . and the Raven said, %!~#&(&#!$!

Earl Brinkman
Senior Member
since 2010-03-03
Posts 1183
Osaka, Japan
11 posted 2010-11-02 10:01 PM


An interesting tale to say the least.  Sad but interesting.
JerryPat
Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991
Louisiana/America
12 posted 2010-11-02 10:03 PM


Thank you Earl.

. . . and the Raven said, %!~#&(&#!$!

ethome
Member Patricius
since 2000-05-14
Posts 11858
New Brunswick Canada
13 posted 2010-11-03 06:48 AM


Sad Jerry, but very possible and heart rending all the same. I enjoyed the read very much.
Good stuff inside the trucker.

Eric

JerryPat
Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991
Louisiana/America
14 posted 2010-11-03 07:02 AM


Appreciate the kind words on the poem, Eric, and you are right, it is very possible.

. . . and the Raven said, %!~#&(&#!$!

Robert E. Jordan
Member Rara Avis
since 2008-01-25
Posts 8541
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
15 posted 2010-11-07 09:46 PM


There you goes Jerry Pat, that's the spirt.

I was a kid like that--looking for a daddy.

Bobby

nakdthoughts
Member Laureate
since 2000-10-29
Posts 19200
Between the Lines
16 posted 2010-11-08 06:24 AM


I think it would make a very interesting novel.

M

JerryPat
Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991
Louisiana/America
17 posted 2010-11-08 10:35 AM


Thank you Robert and M.
Angel4aKing
Senior Member
since 2006-09-27
Posts 1372
USA
18 posted 2010-11-10 12:11 PM


I really liked this...captured my attention that is for sure....and I could almost put a tune to it...

~~~kingsangel~~~

JerryPat
Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991
Louisiana/America
19 posted 2010-11-10 06:56 AM


I've had a few people say it could be made into a song. If those old trucker songs were still being recorded it might work there, modified of course. Thank you, Angel4aKing. Thank you for you kind words.

. . . and the Raven said, %!~#&(&#!$!

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