Lone Star State

[dedalus]

I want to live in the light,

eyes narrowing, gazing

hard over a turbulent stream

and with a rifle in my hands.

 

Who knows? You can shoot

at the fish, poor bastards, or you can

draw a bead on passing insects,

avoiding the thought of what

you really want to do.

 

Life is for living

in ways that our grandpaents

would deplore, citing duty,

clean living, preparation for war,

all those goddam ideas

we impolitely no longer believe in,

and suspect they didn’t either.

 

Lies are the things we live with

on all adult levels: those days

of clarity and sharp decision

barely made it out of high school,

except for the college-bound kids

who could extend the fantasy.

 

It’s all right. S’all right.

Nothing to worry about.

 

When I get to Vietnam

I’ll send you a postcard.

Hell, I’ll do the same thing from Iraq,

and another maybe from Afghanistan

although the postal service is blown to shit.

 

Hello, hello!

Yes, this is me, hello, waving,

and you are not, excuse me, waving back.

Is it possible you cannot see me?

Is it … nobody can see me?

 

I live in a world of things,

sharp, abrupt, coloured, fluffy,

and I like and believe in a person who sings,

 

except Country & Western

which is like cow hooves trailing down your spine

and I miss that Texas girl of mine

 

and I miss the sunlight and the Tex-Mex cuisine

and the casual view over silver-flecked lakes

and the Texas flags as big as football fields

 

and just about everything, really.

[tonyv]

I love the poem, including the title, and especially this part here:

 

... and I miss that Texas girl of mine

 

and I miss the sunlight and the Tex-Mex cuisine

and the casual view over silver-flecked lakes

and the Texas flags as big as football fields

 

and just about everything, really.

 

I hope you checked in with Marti while you were there.

 

Tony

[dr_con]

I really like just about everything in this piece too! The tone, and yes having lived there briefly, the images are to me, pitch perfect.

 

Thanks Bren!

 

Juris

[fdelano]

Good take on a state with a big attitude. I liked the "cow hooves trailing down your spine." You're lucky to escape alive. BTW, there are no girls in TX; they are gals or GRITS, (girls raised in the South).

[Benjamin]

Incisive and excellent as usual. There are few places in the developed world where pressures and expectancies of modern living do not affect a region's character or "attitude"... . Enjoyed. G.