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Open Poetry #21
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MidnightSon
Member
since 2002-05-15
Posts 312
between the gutter & the stars

0 posted 2002-07-28 07:32 PM


*i was going to put this in prose, but the line breaks make it a bit un-prose-y...
but if you (the mods) think it'll fit better there, then by all means. =) thanks*

The familiar Lynyrd Skynyrd riff begins;
A duffel bag full of necessities,
a rear view mirror full of memories,
and my headphones begin to pump out the road anthem "Sweet Home Alabama".
The Bus pulls out of the stall, plowing through the downtown muck of San Diego and straining for Interstate 5.

People are different on the bus.
Remember, this is the affordable way to travel.
It's not an airborne cocktail hour going non-stop to Las Vegas.
No,
for many of those in the seats in front of me their Bus ticket is a last ride out of hell, a desperate run to someplace beyond the unrelenting grasp of Southern California.
Those who can afford to gamble can afford other means of travel.
Vacationers don't take Greyhound.
The strange, the terrible, the jaded
and haggard courageous hearts...
The anonymous take the Bus.

Now, fifty-or-so strangers, many pulled from the depths of Orange county, climb aboard, sink into their seats with headphones or a book, and gaze out the window. And we all pray to our respective deities, or perhaps just to the road itself, that the past won't catch up with us this time.

I hear the twang of Jimmie Vaughn singing "Dengue Woman Blues" as the sun climbs a little higher into the sky. The Bus climbs slowly north, past Santa Ana to Anaheim.
It gets crowded.
Acquaintances are made.
We find we share experiences in our pasts.
And some of us hope to find someone with a common destination...

The guy next to me that smells like Carl's Jr. uses gentle coercion on the girl across the aisle in seat 51; I sigh...
The musician in seat 32 is carrying nothing but a keyboard and a guitar; I wonder...
Myself...a straggling writer in a suit trying to see more of the future than the past in the window.

There aren't any happy endings here.
Just fading dreams, a little faith, and lives tucked into backpacks, boxes, and garbage bags.

Eric Clapton's "Further on up the Road" begins to rattle through my ears as we trek on through Barstow -
The Bus an enormous bear lumbering through the Mojave desert toward the only shimmering beacon in the sand ahead...
The bear roars at the heat and stands; he delivers us into the City of Sin that it may be our haven, if only until the next bus comes along.

We get off the Bus, and I instinctively look over my shoulder.
Before the bruises start to hurt again, before my head starts to ache, and before my knuckles can whiten
I turn back around.
Looking ahead through the neon glow,
I try to keep sight of my dreams.
And I hear Eddie Money ask,
"If I could walk on water, would you believe in me?"



it's our struggle for identity that leaves us all unknown

[This message has been edited by MidnightSon (07-28-2002 07:40 PM).]

© Copyright 2002 The Midnight Son - All Rights Reserved
devina
Member Elite
since 1999-10-28
Posts 3539
Cali
1 posted 2002-07-28 09:26 PM


I have always *loved* your knack for storytelling sweetie!!

but Sin City?? sighs to me for I lost half my bank account there one year...they are EVIL...or I am slow at learning?

I can give you much sympathy for the bus ride...greyhound is more evil than the casinos...I had to ride one from Anderson to Fremont when my car broke down...it was *bad* and I'll leave you with that image...

enjoyed this you!!

Open arms can be the most fragile in the world...



MIdsummerRain
Member
since 2002-05-19
Posts 175
St. Louis, Missouri
2 posted 2002-07-29 12:22 PM


"...There aren't any happy endings here.
Just fading dreams, a little faith, and lives tucked into backpacks, boxes, and garbage bags..."


Simply Outstanding! Love this one; I was Enthralled & was lost in this (Which you do very well) Its good to hear from you again ~Rayne

One day Men will look back & say
that I gave birth to the 20th Century
            
             Jack the Ripper ~1888

serenity blaze
Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738

3 posted 2002-07-29 12:27 PM


ah...nice soundtrack you put together here--

not trying to make light of it, either, btw...it does help that I am familiar with the music, and understood the nuances of implication by your choices. The eddie money summation was perfection too.

always an interesting read, I enjoyed this much.

passing shadows
Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577
displaced
4 posted 2002-07-29 08:23 AM


this is one of those "mood poems" I like so well. A second and third read is a must!
suthern
Deputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Seraphic
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723
Louisiana
5 posted 2002-07-29 12:55 PM


And you took us with you in this excellent, edgy write. *S* I like this very much, MS...

[This message has been edited by suthern (07-29-2002 12:56 PM).]

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