A Stretch of Road Between Scandinavia and Iola

What luck! I remembered to bring
my Herb Alpert CD—any road
is possible when horns

are feisty. If my car breaks down,
goldenrod might mug me. So what?
Here Earth likes to brag up some flower.

Live here? Are you kidding?
I can’t give myself completely
to oaks, wind, and fields.

Tomorrow I’ll be safe again
behind locks, telling stories
on the phone, spreading lies.

originally appeared in Wisconsin Academy Review (1989)

Published by

Dave Bonta

I live in an Appalachian hollow in the Juniata watershed of central Pennsylvania, and spend a great deal of time walking in the woods. My books of poetry include FAILED STATE: HAIBUN, ICE MOUNTAIN: AN ELEGY, BREAKDOWN: BANJO POEMS, and ODES TO TOOLS.