In the spirit of Kansas, a repost

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Ryan
Member

since 1999-06-10

Posts 297
Kansas

0 posted 2000-09-20 11:02 PM

Midwestern Roadside Longings

I-70

Out in the middle
of our great plains
there's a stretch of highway
that's never known hills,
but just in the distance
over the curve of the land,
the rolling grasslands begin.
It's a lonely country
there where the bluegrass
knows everything from
laying under so many
star filled nights.
I know about these plains
and they know about me
and this stretch of highway
will always bear east and
west into great hills,
but it still must pass through
this lonely place where
everyone meets themselves.

K177

Everyone always tells me they
wanna get out of this little
place in the middle of nowhere.

There ain't no life in this state.

80 mph across the plains
with the sun caressing the red grass
that grows out there where everyone wants
to get away from.

That's where the life is.

Still, it's so lonely and I know why,
but I just wanna stay
and revel in the tragic nature
of this whole forlorn
state.

US 75

There are satellites in the sky
and if I look up at just
the right moment 185 miles south-
southwest of the big town I
can see them float over the
vast prairies as they thank God
they're up there in outer space,
best place for cold steel to live.
And sometimes the moon, full of
a soft midnight glow, will come out
& I can just smile and it can
just smile back and then maybe
all my dreams'll come true
or at least just one.

US 54

The mornings after are always the
worst,
         after the whole night's been
up wailing its blues
like an all night San Francisco
Kerouacian fairy tale and I'm
the only one that heard it
             and you're back somewhere else.

US 69

Just let me take to the roads
a while cause the pavement's
a soothsayer and what it's telling
         I can hear sometimes
         if I listen
just right and really want to.
It ain't just everywhere a
car can go 300 miles w/o seeing
a soul or a turn but still
     seem to get it all.
But those roads keep their
futures like secrets & when
I get back the words
    are never there.

But neither are you.

K57

An empty pay phone,
the first place my family's
past remembers working.
An old dying town reserved
for memories
and colorless photos.

The trees always fly by,
but in the ghosts of a
Midwestern past,
slow
and see it
     and smell the rolling
hills and grasses.

A graveyard sits on top
of one more hill,
its stone engravements old
and weathered,
the birds still singing,
the Grand Army of the Republic
still marching.

I-35

Semis and rust
and old yellow
busses who don't
carry children anymore
all line the roads
with their sad-eyed
broken headlights
to tell their stories.

But southbound around
the gentle curves is
enough of a song for
me.
         Carry me to
my promised land,
         or maybe just
         a little junction
of 2 lonesome roads
where I can rest my
weary feet awhile.

I've been longing for
too many years now, and
I gotta sit down.

[This message has been edited by Ryan (edited 09-20-2000).]

Mark Bohannan
Member Rara Avis

since 2000-06-21

Posts 7269
In the winds of Cherokee song

1 posted 2000-09-20 11:17 PM

Yep...you nailed them all....I just moved from Kansas in Feb and I am now STUCK down in TX for awhile. I wish I were in KS again. Ever been to Olathe? Thank you for taking me back for this visit.

jwesley
Member Rara Avis

since 2000-04-30

Posts 7563
Spring, Texas

2 posted 2000-09-20 11:22 PM

Enjoyed this much. Great imagery. Felt like I was right there with you...

jwesley

Masked Intruder

Moderator

Senior Member

since 1999-05-23

Posts 1231
Near golden sunsets

3 posted 2000-09-20 11:32 PM

I've always wondered about that ending Ryan. Why would you just want to sit down....if you've been sitting down for hours and hours and hours on end before then...only just in a car?

Ryan
Member

since 1999-06-10

Posts 297
Kansas

4 posted 2000-09-20 11:44 PM

Mark:  Yes, I've seen Olathe many times.  I live(d) nearby in Shawnee, which I'm sure you recognize if you know Olathe.  The I-35 stanza sings of Olathe and other places south.

jwesley:  Glad you liked it.  Road trips are always a great way to spend the evening.

MI:  I'm sure I've told you everything I could say here on IM, so ha.  *grins*

Ryan

I like too many things and get all confused and hung-up running from one falling star to another till i drop. This is the night, what it does to you. I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion.
—Jack Kerouac

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