Leading Nowhere

Working on a new book, poems that are tied together by their impetus or inspiration, although not necessarily in the way one would typically think.  Don’t want to give too much away until it comes together, but this piece, “Leading Nowhere,” is a new one that could be among the selections.  It was inspired by a visit to an abandoned road, tucked away in the North Carolina woods. Enjoy.

Leading Nowhere
 
In the middle of a forest
Sits a large concrete tunnel
Meant to take a highway
Like a woman takes her man
With abandonment and wonder
Possibility and ease
Reckless love, unfinished
 
Birds fly around the opening
Turkeys rustle at the edges
But closer in, all darkness
Graffiti and perspective
Free hugs. Have less.
Someone drew a penis
Someone drew the flag
 
Dissonance unsettled
City in the country, looking for
Shopping carts filled with cans
Sleeping bags and bodies
Huddled in the darkness
Because that’s what I am used to
In the city that I live. Instead
 
Drip drip drip. Water
Falling from a fissure
In the solitary ceiling
Leading up to heaven
Like a sewer of the mind
Another deserted road
Lost and leading nowhere