In Which I Take My Last Road Trip Over The Range

The road will likely close soon for the year,

Wyoming 130 across the Range

Called Snowy, and it will do so, I fear

Before I may return to it. So strange

Today to see the aspens' hues in gold

And snow accumulated on the ground.

This last trip's memories will have to hold

Me till next spring. I rolled my windows down

Despite the cold, to let in those last smells

For my and Molly's pleasure, let my eyes

Go all unshaded, killed the radio. Spells

Of purest bliss would take me. Such good-byes

Are for all of the senses. But hellos

Await me, too, ahead, in winter's snows.

On Coming Home After A Minibreak Vacation

'Twas just two days and change and yet it seems
As though I have been gone for weeks instead.
The grass unmowed out front now also screams
For watering, as do the hedge and bed
Of irises and lilies. Welcome back,
Says my front yard as I arrive, so tired
From driving in the blazing sun in black
(Car and attire). See all that has transpired?
There's dust to dust and vacuuming to do.
Out back there's weeds to pull and trim as well.
And by the way when all of that is through
A podcast still needs edited. Oh, hell:
You're worthless as you slump into that chair.
Fine, take a nap, but then to work, I swear!

In Which I Grouse A Bit About My New License Plate

Booktastic Jack got his new tags today,

More than just tags; Wyoming's got new plates.

Sure on a website they look nice, but they

Are not so vivid in real life. Our state's

Got much to live up to in this regard.

Most recently, we featured Devil's Tow'r,

Long famed, if you're a UFO diehard,

As where some Spielberg aliens in our

Collective memory touched down. We've still

The bucking horse, of course, forevermore.

Ol' Steamboat will not leave us, not until

The Yellowstone volcano blows up or --

I can't think of what else. But this I knows:

The Tetons don't show up, so this plate blows.

In Which I Feel My Car's Pain More Than It Does

If this had been a stress-test, I'd have failed.

I'd have to issue CAP securities

To Geithner and his bunch. But I've curtailed

Attempts to understand that stuff. Oh please -

We all have anyway. Let's talk 'bout my

Own stresses. While my car came out okay

(A dirty air flow sensor, cleaned now by

The guys at Logan Ave's repair bay. Hey -

It didn't need replaced, just cleaned is all!),

I spent the morning watching jagged lights

Across my vision, hearing... I could call

It piercing, this whine, but that term just slights

The sounds tormenting me, though just describes

A migraine's pain. Too many diatribes?

BONUS SONNET: In Which I Scream Like Kirk At Khan After Checking The Schedule At Work

I was to take my Jack to Logan Ave
Tomorrow before I headed to work.
I'd hoped perhaps they'd fix him and I'd have
Him back by shift's end. Lo the fates did smirk.
We've changed things up, as far as schedules go.
My shift now starts at six-thirty a.m.
The change was next week, I had thought, but no!
Tomorrow is the day. I cannot stem
The tide of screams my muscles now emit,
As, knowing that Deep Blue is my recourse,
And that all winter I got not a whit
Of exercise and that now, by main force
No matter what the weather, we shall ride
To work and back before we've really tried.

BONUS SONNET: In Which I Fret Over My Gas Guzzling Pal

Alongside Deep Blue in my heart is Jack,

Booktastic Buick Skylark, and the means

For my commute most of the year. He's black

With red inside and sleek, like most machines

About which poems are written. Yesternoon 

Upon the summit where the fog did spread

My Jack got thirsty. Though we'd be home soon

I'm told his type is best not run to red,

So (secret) Trading Post got it some trade.

But from the way my Jack's behaving now

I'm thinking that the gas was lower grade

Than is quite right. He's sluggish as a cow

At lower speeds, though he can still go fast.

We barely made it home tonight. Damnblast!

Lines Written Upon Seeing Elk Mountain For The First Time In 2009

As house-hunting, then moving, both have kept
Me to a small, small circle in Cheyenne,
It's been more than four months since I have slept
In any other town. I've had a plan
This week to hit the road at long last, and
Partake of my hometown's delights and see
My folks and friends and survey how this land
Has fared through this sere winter. Glory be!
I packed my car and strapped to it Deep Blue,
And loaded up a certain glad collie
And put Jack's tires to pavement, barreled through
A hundred miles of wind, then with jolly
Wild shouts took in a gorgeous, welcome sight,
Snowcapped and lovely in the noon sunlight.