Eric Greinke

Down The Long Highway

Humming right along
At a comfortable pace
We are all seeking
To be somewhere else.
If everybody follows
The rules of the road,
No one will have to die
Or be seriously injured.
The mutual benefits
Are clear to most people
Except the very reckless,
Who like to imbibe
While they drive.
Some people prefer
To bring sweet drinks,
Or messy salty snacks,
Or to play their favorite tunes
To customize their trips.
Our cellphones plug
Into the dash by the T.V. screen.
Children are restrained
In the back seats
Watching favorite animations.
Tinted windows prevent
Exposure to any scenery.
We like to run on Cruise
Whenever possible
& to religiously follow
The onboard GPS,
So we won’t lose ourselves
Somewhere along the road.

Her Final Smile
For Roseanne

Of all the smiles I’ve ever felt
This one filled me up the most.
She smiled when she consented to die,
To be taken off the machine that kept
Her breathing. Her organs had failed,
But not her will, so they sent me in
To convince her. “Honey, you can’t beat it,”
I said, & then she smiled, eyes alight,
Wisely illuminating my chest,
Already coming home inside my heart.
We’d lived each day as if our last,
Yet I’d never understood her strength
Before her final brilliant smile,
The gift she gave to spare me for awhile.

 

Eric Greinke. Recent publications: Cholla Needles, Fotospecchio (Featured poet), Schuylkill Valley Journal and Trajectory. He recently published the 50th Anniversary Edition of The Drunken Boat and Other Poems From The French Of Arthur Rimbaud. ericgreinke.com