Published June 10, 2011
Does the highway ever sleep?
In the dark of my bedroom, the face reads
ten-eleven.
It's a Tuesday night.
(My mother always told me to be in bed by
ten-eleven on a Tuesday night.)
The window has been flung wide and the
chorus of crickets caresses the evening air.
Peepers sing to the stars after a full day's rest,
but though the cars have been grumbling just as long,
they show no signs of stopping, and the moon is high.
It doesn't seem to sleep.
So I wonder…
Does the highway ever dream?
I wonder if Morpheus will sooth the high road…
maybe by eleven or twelve?
But, I must confess, despite parental advice,
I have allowed Rowling and Tolkien to
take me to twelve before.
(Even if it was a school night.)
Ergo, I can hardly expect this restless beast
to curl up by the stroke of midnight.
And yet, I make it a habit on Tuesday nights
to be deeply unconscious by one.
I, just an ordinary girl with an ordinary day ahead,
chock full of activities, can't afford a nocturnal life.
So how can these executives
corporates
businessmenandwomen
CEOs
presidents
hardworkers
press that pedal to steer the highway
all
night
long?
And I wonder…
does the highway have nightmares?
Is that the cause of eternal action?
Perhaps the highway is scared of night-
of the crickets
peepers
shadows
celestial shine
the uncertainty that comes with inillumination.
Perhaps it is that the highway and its cattle drivers-
the executives corporates and the rest-
are afraid of not having the world as a candle flame.
Perhaps the inability to see the stars as what they are
and instead as harbingers of monsters
ghouls
goblins
vagabonds
frightens them.
And then I think of how sad this must be,
to live your life running from your fears
instead of facing them head on
and finding that you are
braver
stronger
than you thought.
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140,831 Literary Works • 673,694 Reviews
Hello shadeplet,
I loved this and it's so true I can relate to what you are saying. You painted the picture for us, the reader, really well and this is bursting with imagery created purely by the excellent language you used and the thorough attentionyou payed to every little detail. This was also in a way kind of sad, I bet one hundred years ago people wouldn't have been kept up late by the highway traffic. It does make you reflect on the past and how things of changed, some for the better and some we would have been better off without. You considered that when writing this and handled the subject truthfully, but carefully as well.
there was one small thing that bothered me in this and kind of stood out as being not as beautiful and poetic as the rest of the poem and I thought that perhaps you might want to rethink it.
My favorite part of your poem would have to be this, particularly the last little section about having a nocturnal life and what not.
Overall this was very good and if you have any more works of poetry that you would like to be reviewed it would be an absolute pleasure! Keep up the amazing writing and make all your poetry as detailed, thoughtful and thorourgh as the one I have read today, you have tons of writing talent, keep it up.
From CuteJackRussell
You have a real talent with sensory images. you really can paint a picture. Awesome job! Im not that great at critiquing people, because I have horrible grammar and spelling. . . So i just want to say that it was amazing! Great job!
I'm not a normally a fan of poetry but this was excellent. You really painted a picture, and I especially loved the verse:
I can't think of any other word but beautiful.