Southbound Poem by C.R. Blazo

Wire framed glasses
Dripping with sweat
Green Bottle flies
Buzzing in his ears
The humid, sagging air
Weighs on him
South Arkansas summers
Black Gum swamps
And cotton fields abound
He closes the trunk
A '71 Olds 442
As red as the clay it sits on
Blonde hair hanging from the trunk
The dual exhaust sounds
And the American muscle
Fizzles into the dust
He taps the steering wheel
His mind drowned in relentless thoughts
Talking aloud to himself
Rationalizing
The sun is setting
The trees of the forest
Growing taller
He pulls onto a dirt road
Questioning his motives
For the death of love
He looks out into the darkening forest
Emerald turning black
And with the raucous call of a Barred Owl
A gun shot ends the day.