Originally published in Planet Magazine No. 24 (December 1999).
travelers on this road
ignore the signs
they can’t read English
don’t know what a verb is
they take wrong turns
end up in barnyards
feeding chickens
and shoveling
the cows
i was lucky enough
to study with the Master
i carry his thesaurus
and spell check computer
there is no word i cannot read;
i do fine till i reach the highway
there are too many lanes
i am hit by an auto-motive
full of defrocked priests
they had left the cities
when the darkness ate the sky
for the first time
i am speechless
my mouth hangs open like
feeding time at the zoo
i ask the priests to help me
but they walk barefoot
their hair fell out in clumps
toothless gums snap and pucker
no oil for their lamps
are these the men, I ask myself
who once raised the two-headed staff
to heaven
and drew thunder
across the skies?
Poetry copyright © 1999/2000 by Featured Poet Richard Behrens
Artwork “The Dark Kiss” copyright © 1999/2000 by Romeo Esparrago
