Del Rio Poem by John Christensen

Smoke curls in blue-grey wisps

As I sit before the ashtray

My glass is half full

But my heart is empty

I take a drink

The scotch is warm and full

Like a honeyed baritone

A soft flush spreads across my face

And every comforting thing I'd ever known

Is remembered in an instant

Too brief to truly see

Like the scotch

All that remains is a billowy impression



I stare at my couch

With its thick padding and matching pillows

Pressed together like sweethearts

Nestled into one another

My cigarette gives up one last drag

Before I crush it out



I am not bored

Just quiet as warm earth

Everything stands still

In the gentle beige light of my home

And it's good



Outside, the pale, sleepy blue sky

Is an ocean

Full of cottony icebergs

Floating to a dream land

Under my feet, the hard grey parking lot

Reminds me that even the most ardous trek

I have ever taken

Was worth it in the end

I smile as I realize

No matter how far I roam from here

This will always be my destination

And I look forward to it