Can't sit down on a bench wet

Can't sit down on a bench wet

From fallen leaves heavy with dew

The water treatment plant near Bridgewater

Droning in my ears sound cannot get through

I could roll down the ridge in brambles

Come to rest on a rail track along river Ohio

And wait for the train to pass

Or I could gather my thoughts together

Carry them up the yellow brick road to Beaver

Whatever the heck she wondered

What was wonderful to me

Back with the good family

Familiar with the conclusion

Of what is wonderful to see

There once was a place near Oz

That would not send me homeward

Where once I led a dreamer's life

As real as expat Kansas gamblers

On showboat Beaver to Mississippi

Where they lose the house taking chances

But keep some of the cargo remains

Soot settled left its indelible marks

I want on it to scribble

That no love lasts forever

Like water passes under the bridge

Fast windy water has left me drifting

To where I am alone climbing

Up the ridge grasping slippery weeds

Stay with the kindness of a simple mind

Away from the bad place that indigents find

Untangle and connect the end lines of blues

The foreign tongue I never really used

Like a stamp collection licked and abused

What professional expats ensue

The crux of a teacher's review

Experience the moment at hand

Here comes the train passing through

With a long cargo of refuse bins

Removed to make room for more

Pack and unpack the junk that grew

In life it is good to continually renew

Save for a precious memento or two

Dec. 2022

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