Poem: American Hieroglyphics

I was alone driving on I-40
When I encountered the Smokies
Deep forest moisture becoming fog
Giving their watery offerings to the sky
To birth the clouds carried on the wind

From the pavement in valleys it looked
As if the mountains were smoldering 
Slow burning fires that fit my mood perfectly
As I blazed a trail from Atlantic seaboard
To the muddy banks of the Mississippi
Seeking out a new future to replace
The broken one I left in ashes behind

There an Egyptian named town waited
Sweltering with beautiful and dripping death
Patiently consuming souls like the Sphinx
In all of her mystery that she refused to give up 
Except to those who solved her riddles

And there in the condensating mountains
I was determined to either solve the riddle
Or die there like so many others singing
The blues because they never found their way
Up out of the darkness that lead to the light 

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Copyright © 2021 TJS Sherman All rights reserved.

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