Old Road West

by Larry Chamberlin   Aug 20, 2015


Travel the back roads of America,
find yourself on a two-lane highway
that used to be a thoroughfare
of the nation, now replaced
by limited access freeways.

Here is where you find
cattle and goats
grazing on the shoulder,
farmers perched on John Deeres
crossing to their other fields.

Here you wander into villages,
former towns,
too small to attract
a curvature of the interstate
and yet they retain
the quaint grandeur
of their Courthouse Square.

Folks sit on porches
of oversized brick or river rock;
gas stations still have rubber cords
that ring bells when you drive up.

Men amble in flannel shirts
in the middle of August
window shopping
at the feed store.

Blink your eyes and you're
back among the rural fields:
corn, sorghum, sunflowers
and great rolls of hay.

Rolling hills hide stock ponds;
horizons boast silo skylines;
watering contraptions
circulate on wheels.

Lose yourself
in the back roads of America
and find something
you never knew you lost.

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Latest Comments

  • 9 years ago

    by Mr. Darcy

    Hello Larry,

    Some have fantasies of time machines. They long to travel back to a time when life was simpler, less fussy and paced for gentle folk who had time to 'chew the fat'. I must admit, I am one of those people. I often get swept along with the maelstrom and long to just walk and smell the roses.

    Your poem does this, it reminds me that if we want to, history is just a short drive/ flight away. Like your gas stations that ring. We have villages full of thatched cottages small holdings that are self sufficient. There are single track roads, just a stones throw from motorways. When I have time I choose the single tracks, pulling over every now and again to allow another motorist past. And do you know what? Each driver smiles and waves a thank you. This would never happen on a motorway - well, you'd never get the chance!

    A very good write.

    Thank you.

    Michael

  • 9 years ago

    by Yrem Crish

    Truly beautiful
    5/5

  • 9 years ago

    by Yrem Crish

    Sometimes the reminiscence of old physical surroundings back into our mind...seeking the simplicity and wanting to feel the freshness of that particular place..the innocent views..the stress free atmosphere and the simple creature living to make you smile..and the green fields...but unfortunately because of modernity and progressive ways of living, when you open your eyes..everything changed and the natural beauty gradually gone.

    This piece is truly heart touching.
    Simple but full of meaning.
    The reality about our modern world.
    Portraying the past and the present-
    world to live.

    Great piece, Sir!
    Godbless;-)

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