Family-Friendly U.S.A.

Posted bydmcadminPosted inWriting & PublishingTags:

Last night I went to another Poetry Slam event in Rock Springs. Not content to sit on the sidelines, I composed a few and entered the competition. I had a blast and got some good scores and feedback – luckily! It has, after all, been many moons since I’ve written and performed poetry. Here is my favourite of the three I did last night:

Family-Friendly U.S.A.

Playful City
Scenic byway
For most just a pit stop along the way.
Green sister,
To the stoned centre,
Of a red state.
With white-washed streets,
And trailer parks,
The brochure didn’t mention.
Family friendly
Meth heads
Loose dogs
Rig pigs and oil widows.

The guy in the Walmart parking lot asking:
“Do you like to party?”
The only interaction
In a West Side Story
Simmering in the kitchen of Taco Time
While Chilean sheepherders
Are forgotten in the hills.
56 nationalities de blancos
Apocalypse-spouting sales clerks
A coal-fuelled massacre
And gas-guzzling ghost trucks.
Family friendly
Prostitutes
Slum Lords

A Flaming Gorge
Ready to swallow it all.

38 thoughts on “Family-Friendly U.S.A.”

  1. Hell Danielle, I had no idea that you were a slam poet! Good for you! Keep exploring all the different passions that keep you powerful – you’re beautiful 🙂

  2. Thanks, Fro (aka Patricia!)! I was actually what is called a ‘Slam Virgin’ last night, but I had a blast. I swear one of these days we’ll connect over the phone. Heck, if you’re going to be in Calgary/Edmonton/Lethbridge (or anywhere between there and Ottawa) in early June maybe we’ll get to see each other!

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