Stuckeys signs rise into the sky like lamp posts
lighting the way from rest stop to bathroom break
to late night motels with swimming pools (yay!)
In between the miles I read every passing billboard –
especially the ones showing sophisticated grown ups
holding cocktails and cigarettes (temptation!)
White and yellow stripes disappear behind us in
the endless flatlands of Texas dotted with pumping rigs
like giant grasshoppers bolted in the earth. The first glimpse
of purple mountain slopes rise on the horizon like
a wonderous mirage after the boredom of dusty plains.
Green valleys and twisty roads meander
through lush forests and little towns and my stomach
does a flip in anticipation of almost being there.
——————–
Shared on dVerse Poets Pub, an online site where poets share their work and support each other.
Charlotte Hamrick 
Beautiful images you have brought together in this. Cheers!
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Thank you, Delaina
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ha. i def loved roadsigns growing up…and i have eaten at a stuckey’s or two…or a friendly’s…another good one, especially the fribble shake….its cool too watching the scenery change with each passing mile….passing from flat land to mountains…
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I was always happy to see green after riding across the middle of endless, brown Texas!
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I always wondered what a Stuckey’s would have for food. Seen often, passed oftener.
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We never ate their either but there were endless billboards for it and I always wished we’d stop. My daddy was a driving maniac!
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mine too, and so I became 🙂
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I can clearly see those grasshoppers pumping oil-rigs. And those motels I’m sure had vibration beds for a dime…
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They sure did! Thanks for reading, Bjorn.
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Pumping rigs like grasshoppers… I like that! Again a poem that makes me want to see more of the (non-touristy/country side) of the US… Like it!
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The non-touristy side is the best, most authentic. I say that with great authority, considering where I live. 😉 Thanks for visiting, CC.
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Love the visuals, and the take-me-back feel to this…
The grasshopper lines jumped right out at me, wonderful!
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Thanks, Kelly. Those rigs always reminded me of grasshoppers.
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Beautiful images!
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This is a great addition to Poetics – loved how you took us with you on this road trip from memory. Very cool write.
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I’m glad you liked it, Shanyns.
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So happy that I stumbled upon you at dVerse…since I also wrote about NM for the prompt. Love NM, love the southwest and your very descriptive poem really hits home for me. I did drive from Texas to NM on one particular trip there and couldn’t wait to leave the flat lands!
🙂
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Texas goes on forever, doesn’t it? Thanks for visiting, mish. I’ll be over to visit you soon!
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This is great, Charlotte. Those cigarette ads! You put me in the head of a bored child seeing mountains for the first (?) time.
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Not for the first time. I was born and spent my early childhood in NM but once we moved to MS we would drive back to visit grandparents every few years.
I’m glad you liked this little piece, Kathy!
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You captured the adventure beautifully.
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Thanks, Mosk. Hope all is well with you.
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