poem

SidewalksA neighborhood without sidewalksIs a world unlimned.Staggering along soft shouldersOne leg slanting lower than the other,It ’s dumb and dangerous.Cars honking, swervingYou can't trust your fellow manOn the arbitrary grids he ’s laid outIn the darkYou leap into the boggy ditch.Beyond the ditch is a rising plain,But it ’s just a yardGoose-bumped grass iced in frostLike it ’s afraid of the darkA lawn bounded by another.Homes and fences.It all belongs to someone else.Stick to the road.But this old road is no good.This road just goes into townWhich is just a place To pour out the asphaltAnd lay some red bricks downI want to make a homeBeyond the bordersOf the known dutifully mapped world.Let us trace a path,My hand guiding your fingersAcross conjured maps Composed on blank sheets.Look, we can ’t help it; Straight, cross-hatched lines All across the page,Hopscotching from thought to thought,Leaping across cracksIn our imaginary sidewalk.  8/12/19

Source: Buckeye Surgeon - August 11, 2019 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs