West-East
We had a full tank of expectations,
new tires, pinkish dreams of Camelot
in a desert state, Tucson, not vacation,
old life ditched in a Denny’s parking lot.
I won a grand at the Diamonds casino,
thought finally we had turned a corner,
fools gold, our crane flew out the window,
the piper would come for his share later.
You claimed someone did a number on me,
warped my brain on cheap booze, yours on peyote,
lost you to chakra, tarot card, moon breeze,
drove through the night, back to Kentucky.
Desert’s cold, our love dead from exposure,
twenty years on I’m still searching for closure.
17 thoughts on "West-East"
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Wow, Bill! The honesty of your work and your bravery to write about your past always gets me. Great poem; you have done such memorable work this Lexpomo..
Bill, this one bleed it do.
Bill, this is honest and powerful. The images are vivid, but the emotions they convey lift from the page and move directly to the heart. Thank you for sharing this with us.
I really feel this one. I’m still looking for closure too.
pinkish dreams of Camelot/
in a desert state
A lot of hard hitting lines here, Bill. Gritty and real. I can see this as an inspiration for a fine country song,—a good, true, and real one.
Thank you for sharing this with us!
Love the line:
our love dead from exposure,
God DAMN this is good, Bill! You are blowing my mind as a formalist. You have a feel for the sonnet in particular. Do you know Derek Jarman’s work, especially UNHOLY SONNETS? And Diane Seuss of course. You are catching up with them.
Mark Jarman, not Derek!
I don’t but will look him up. Always looking for something new and new to me to read. Thanks!
Powerful. Pounds truth with every word, not one wasted.
A few fav lines:
“a full tank of expectations”
“our love dead from exposure,”
This one hits hard! Such honesty and beautiful words! Pinkish dreams of Camelot!
I have only just read the first line… And I am already obsessed. I will continue reading now, 🙂
WOW!
I am absolutely amazed at maintaining the very difficult structure of the sonnet/iambic pentameter, with no line, word or piece seeming an inch bit of forced.
I could FEEL each stretch of this into my gut and heart. The rawness, honesty and above all, introspection, you have crafted onto this page is just damn beautiful.
That first line really drew me in, and the poem did not disappoint.
From first to last, the engaging authenticity gripped me. Superbly crafted. Cuts personally. Thank you, Bill, for sharing
“fools gold” “Desert’s cold” and all before, in between, and after– perfectly captured sentiment, captured perfectly.
(After I read the last line, which satisfies, I did want to sing “Let it go” to you. -I’m crazy.- But really . . .)
The final couplet is a stunning denouement. I love the foreshadowing and tone setting you do early here with “We had a full tank of expectations,/new tires, pinkish dreams of Camelot…”
Agree with so many comments above and love “pinkish dreams of Camelot.”