The sonorous drone of my wheels
along the endless, flat asphalt —
faded gray and baked lifeless
by a thousand summer suns.
A dead tire remnant,
stiff legs skyward,
black body curled upon itself,
as if death were painful.
Shattered, scattered drops of glass
along the shoulder,
a million, tiny, reflected points of light.
A solitary flip-flop,
abandoned by its mate,
no doubt lonesome for the toes it once touched.
The twisted carcass of a deer,
bloated body reeking from internal gasses,
grossly swollen in the heat,
nothing like the graceful life it once held.
Large, nylon orange triangles
which proclaim “BEGIN MOWING ZONE”,
and moments later,
the sweet smell of freshly cut grass
blowing through the air vents of my car.
Undulating bands of yellow-ochre and sage,
fields of high color
set against an ocean of weak, cloudless blue.
Empty five-gallon buckets
probably left-over from some D.O.T. project,
lying down on the job,
no lids protect the air inside.
A sassy black crow
pecks at unrecognizable road-kill,
determined to finish his meal,
completely fearless of the metal death that rushes past.
Flutters of white paper against green,
litter from careless, unthinking hands
cast from their world into ours,
but no one seems to mind.
Most of these things project sadness
of a dying world that has moved on,
always moving, meandering, wandering
along a highway of an aging culture.
Long after man is dust,
the packed, stone roads will still be here,
marking the byways and well-traveled trails
of steel beasts and their drivers…
~ C.L.R. ~ © 2005
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Wow, those were some ‘amazing’ visuals! Too many great lines to list them all, but this rocked. 🙂
“A solitary flip-flop,
abandoned by its mate,
no doubt lonesome for the toes it once touched. “
🙂 Thanks, John. I’ll be playing “catch up” with all my reading tomorrow night, and I’m sure to come aboard for a few!
i could see that through your listing …. before even stated. you captured the sense of dynamic that is movement and change. when things are discarded. when the world moves-on. really beautiful piece.
Thanks, E! 🙂 Driving long distances really gives a person time to think. I was thinking when mankind is well and truly gone, how would another civilization ever know what we were like? By what we left behind, of course. Roads will be one of those things that marks our place in history. I’ll be catching up with my blog reading tomorrow night, so I fully expect to enjoy some good reads at your place!
you know…. am laughing thinking about it …….. national geographic did this article once, where they took how WE today, interpret archeological digs. and they applied it to modern structures. it was so funny! lol … had like saying a toilet bowl must have been our ceremonial worshiping-font, things of that sort. more than anything, stressed how you can’t presume to know a darn thing after-the-fact. or that what we do consider knowledge on past civilizations — is in many ways educated guesses.
roads are definitely of materials that could linger, though if we manage not to ‘destroy’ ourselves this go-around, maybe all that asphalt will eventually be put to different use. 🙂
I agree with all the cap’n said – I just loved the line: The twisted carcass of a deer, – so many visuals in this 🙂
Thanks, Jo! I’m catching up with all my blog reading tonight. Hope to visit yours very soon. 🙂
this has so many great visuals and I agree so much with what everyone has said here this is an amazing piece of poetry happy picnic
http://gatelesspassage.com/2011/09/19/my-world/
Thank you, Sarah! Happy Picnic!
The part about the deer is especially moving. Beautifully imagined. Perfectly executed. A lovey work. Enjoyed! Read it twice …
Thanks, Jamie. Wow, that is high praise indeed! 😀 I don’t expect many people to read my stuff once, let alone twice! Thanks for making my day! xox
nice write dragon and thank you for coming by..
Ditto, fiveloaf! 🙂
Beautifully done. Loved the steel beasts.
Thanks, tigerbrite! 🙂 I liked the play on the words “drivers” – I was thinking of the duality of how cars have drivers, but so do beasts like cattle.
Very vivid writing. Nicely done!
http://charleslmashburn.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/fragile-cloth-2/
Thank you, Charles! 🙂 I liked your entry as well!
fabulous imagery..
you never disappoint.
Happy Poetry Picnic.
🙂
Aw, what a very nice thing to say! Thanks so much, Morning! Happy Picnic! 🙂