Thread: just another day

south o' Joplin, Ozark routed
'bout the break o' day
looked it over, hit the signal
eased out of the way

he was rollin, gettin' on it,
skateboard wide and big
had Destination Excellence
scrawled across the rig

how come he ain't there already
chuckled to myself
save the smartass comments, joker
keep 'em on the shelf

checked a mirror, flashed a signal,
crossed a line and then,
rollin' easy in the grany
set the cruise again

an ordinary get-on,
in an ordinary way,
an ordinary mornin,'
it was just another day

clear sky cloudin,’ spittin' rain drops,'
wipers needin’ on
sprayin' flyin' high and heavy
easy drivin' gone

visibility was failin'
foggin' my front door
then a four wheel slammed a railin,'
flipped and hit the floor

tried to brake it, couldn't make it
trailer on the slide
jackknife now and we'd be goners
tumblin' off the side

left wheels wailin,' 'rubbin' railin'
screamin' through the slot
right wheels grazed across a fender
knuckles in a knot

rolled 'er right 'n rolled 'er easy
pulled 'er to the side
runnin' through the stingin' downpour
prayed nobody died

fella’s bug was crushed and crumpled
he was wearin' smiles
then he asked, "How far's Decatur?"
said "bout fifty miles"

Lady Luck was smilin' with 'im
granting him her kiss
fella’ said, "I gotta get there"
"you ain't drivin' this"

grim disaster once averted
ruin never known
but the close one he took smilin'
froze me to the bone

jus' left 'im there 'n pondered
'n reviewed along the way
jus' made it through a close one
now it's just another day

air brake tanks were holdin' pressure
temp. one-eighty five
oil pressure hung at fifty
good to be alive

over any US highway,
state, or county road
county choppers ply the airway
cryin' sorry load

some were drinkin,' some were speedin'
some just didn't see
some are thinkin,' sad 'n bleedin'
how could this be me

if you're drivin' Illinois, hand,
check that warnin' sign
bold 'n brutal-"Hit A Worker"
ten grand's just the fine

"Fourteen Years In Jail" they wanna
put a man away
buddy, I ain't hit nobody
buddy, let me say,

"today I had a close one
and today I rolled away
the best that I could hope for
and it's just another day"

I really enjoyed this, stonefly, but for the love of God, leave centering to Hallmark and left align this baby. The dialect was done superbly and you've a keen ear. Your rhythm rolled along quite nicely. You kept your rhyme scheme consistent and none of your pairings were blatantly forced. It is a bit lengthy, and you could conceivably remove some of the stanzas while retaining your entire tale, but quite frankly, I enjoyed it as is. I'll be on the lookout for more of your work.

Best,
Lisa

Thanks, Lisa,

I have a couple other poems where I did the same thing. I don't know why I do that with poems. Sometimes I look at it and it seems kinda dumb, but I leave it that way anyway. Hallmark, huh? I never thought of it that way. I think you just cured me.



Robert