Passing Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, on I-25
The desert:
A place of truth
A place of consequences
No game but survival
A space for beauty
A space for the silence
No game, but the test—
A space to quench
A space to bloom
No game but the path
A space for pilgrims
A space for their stories
No game
Just a name
9 thoughts on "Passing Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, on I-25"
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My goodness, what a great title! The poem manages to feel like the desert–sparse and stark and laced with truth.
Thanks, Linda…you encourage me to make the rest of the poem live up to the title’s impact…still room to revise!
Greg, love the space/game dichotomy.
Incredible title! The use of ‘space’ and ‘place’ and ‘no game’ propels the poem through ‘truths and consequences.’ Nice!
Thanks, Pam…we’ll talk in person about a better word for “beauty” perhaps…
Hi, Greg! I love your title, too! Is there such a place? (I suppose I could look it up…) Somehow, it sounds like an aptly-named desert town.
Hi Ellen…it’s a real town. In the 1950s, a quiz show called “Truth of Consequences” offered a prize to any town in the US which would change its name to the name of the show. Hot Springs, NM, agreed to do it–and the show originated from there once a year!
I had the feeling it must be the name of a real place. Powerful poem, Greg.
I’ve always wondered about that town and its name. Thanks!