Open

Modern American

These moments are pierced by jagged light 

and thunder rolls slowly behind them.

Why am I in Georgia...

when you are not?

The storm allows the night to hang 

preventing the sun to make day.

My day looks bleak

from this Walmart parking lot.

Cheerful golden arches beckon

like a gingerbread house.

Oh, I am not well and

Walmart doesn't open for hours.

Author's Note

Reviews

[SHEEMA HUQ]

This sounds like something which was composed in your mind, drafted on a paper cup perhaps and reads very well.

[Mark]

I was sitting in my bunk sick as a dog at the time.

[TL Boehm]

amazing how you can take the mundane. McDonalds, walmart, Georgia rain and make it profound.

[Mark]

Thanks TL. I believe that's a gift we share. :)

[shallimarRose]

LMAO.... I worked graveyard at Wal~mart for fourteen years .. Loved this.. ha..
this line got to me Mark..

"Why am I in Georgia...
when you are not?"
because Im in California honey...
jk
I always enjoy reading here.. Rose

[Mark]

LOL Thank's Rose. I lived in Cali for 20+ years in Lodi. Still got a couple kids out there and a couple grandkids.

[shallimarRose]

We are in the High Desert.. xo

[dw817]

⊰ℛℛ⊱
Oh ! I heard music and said now wait just a minuette, I hadn't hit continue. I have a separate playlist for the headphones I'm wearing ATM. You have an auto-play music, but it's not too loud and not too bad so it started right up.

As for Wal-Mart being closed and you are miles away from home due to your trucking, therein comes the beauty of playing Metal Gear Solid for the PSP. Hours will just fly by.

http://gg.gg/gkik

But yes, I understand about being miles away from home and being homesick, and your poem clearly reminded me of the times I was far from family.

BTW Mark, if you're curious to know how to post an auto-play song which just shows the controls from a Youtube and no video - perhaps to save screen space, PM me and I'll show ya how.

[Mockingbird]

i like the specifics of the scenario of this poem. it makes it familiar and tangible. we all know what it's like to just sit there in a parking lot with these thoughts and not knowing what to do with oneself.

[Mark]

ya, I was sick on top of everything that colored my perception as well. Thanks for reading :)

[Leslie Philibert]

a poet I admire and like; the way he turns everyday events into something special is excellent, it reminds me that Sylvia Plath cut her finger cutting onions and turned it into a great poem...(I think poetry should be about things, about turning real life into special words).

[Mark]

Thank you Leslie.. wow such very high praise to compare to Plath. i am humbled. thank you.

[Angi]

You must have been in the BFE corner of Georgia to find a Walmart that isn't open 24/7. McDonald's beckons like a gingerbread house... Oh Mark, you have been on the road too long, my friend. I hope you end up in a state where she is and I hope you get that break soon. This was very well done. Angi~

[Mark]

Ya people spoke with that deep south drawl and there wasn't miuch around. I got a stomach flu or food poisoning since Friday. Justbeen generally mizerable

[Pryde Foltz]

Love this piece of Americana, Mark. Funny, ironic, and sad. I liked. I liked. I liked. Great phrasing and pace.

[Mark]

Thank you so much Pryde. Glad you liked :)

[Cody Williams]

Another great write Mark! Thanks for sharing it

-CW

[Mark]

Thanks for reading CW :)