Tuesday, December 13, 2016

POEM – Duel (Again and Again)

It may be true that I have never seen the whole film
Not straight through
But I’ve watched it dozens of times
When I was very young
I guess I should have been watching Looney Tunes
But back then cartoons ended by 10:30am
And sometimes friends had to leave in the afternoon
And I was stuck in front of the TV
Spinning the dial
First through the VHF
Then down to the UHF dial
Slowly clicking through the static
Hoping to catch a rogue cartoon
To fill up the doldrums
Until friends were allowed back out

It seemed I could always count on that movie
To be playing every Saturday afternoon
The one where the guy gets chased
All over the desert
By the semi-truck
And no one says anything
No explanation
Never figure out why
And I always somehow came in at the end
The nervous moments
Heading towards the cliff
The guy in the car gets away
The semi goes over the edge
In a spectacular cacophony
A sigh of relief
As a hat rolls by
Blown by the arid winds
Another tumbleweed in the collection
The credits roll
Still no answers

Always I sat there transfixed
Getting a little weirder
Wondering what I just watched
Wondering why I keep watching
Hoping to catch it again
Next Saturday
In the dull afternoon
The only thing on
When the cartoons and the friends
Leave me to duel with the TV dials
Searching for meaning

Aimless as a tumbleweed


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