The Song of the Road Whales

When the wind hits semi-trailers parked, it makes a sound very much like a whale song.

I wake to their songs 

and know the wind is back,

giving voice to the road whales,

as they sing each other the stories.

Stories of long black smooth roads

and the ones with the bumps

slowly killing their tires.

Songs of the drivers who hook them

and drive them, 

then leave them.

Songs of the sun,

Songs of the rain,

They sing about the moonlight;

their way of touching one another.

The sound of their songs is soothing, and a little sad,

as though they tell each other

what they will be someday

when they are no longer able to haul on the road:

Storage for a country dweller,

or perhaps a billboard for Jesus;

as they watch the road they used to travel.

Reviews

[Donald Meikle]

they say write about what you know. You did. and did it well. There's a lotta time to think out there.
Sorta like the dock of the bay and champagne sunsets.
Love the whale thing helluva connection.

[Mark]

Thank you :)

[John Alexander McFadyen]

This was the add At the bottom of you poem on my IPad lol
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This is a well observed poem and the comparison of the Whale sound and these trucks is a clever device to describe something so seemingly mundane.

[Baby Ricochet]

Kind of bitter sweet. The highway has a low mood all it's one. No stress. Good poem

[Mark]

Thank you BR.

[redflutterby]

Wow...you aren't the only one to describe the sound of wind on parked trucks that way. My step grandfather said something very similar thirty years ago. I actually rode with across country from Virginia to Arizona with him and my grandmother when I was 12 in a Mayflower moving truck. Great way to see the states.
Wonderful poem!! ;-)

[Mark]

Thank you A.M.S. .. ya it's kind of an open secret that truckers don't really talk about but we all hear it.

[Coyote Poetry]

I will listen to the wind against the trucks next time I'm on the highway. The highways can feel like a long and deep sea. Highway 75 seem to never end. I like the visions and thoughts create by the outstanding poetry.
Coyote

[Mark]

Thank you Coyote, but you will need to go to a truck stop where there is wind to hear the road whale songs. On the road, their songs are covered up by engines and whining tires. :)

[Frieda P]

Wow, this one affected me in more ways than one, you've taken a rather nondescript subject matter and made lovely poetry of it. I had a dear friend who was a trucker and he used to describe it as such also. Sadly he was killed whilst driving his vehicle. Like I said more ways than one. Enjoyed this one a lot Mark.

[Mark]

Wow, that is tragic. I'm glad you connected with the work though. Thank you

[Frieda P]

Very, he wasn't even supposed to be working but he took the extra shift for the money...you're very welcome my friend.

[Leslie Philibert]

this is really great, echoes of Kerouac or Steinbeck, America pure !

[Mark]

Wow, thanks so much for the high praise!

[carol burgess romance]

I enjoyed this very much...my husband had been a long haul driver for many years..if those trailers could talk...

[Mark]

Thank you I'm glad you enjoyed it

[KAOlmsted]

Oh Mark...holy cats...When I was much younger, in a completely different life, I used to ride with a long haul truck driver and I absolutely loved every minute of it. You've managed to capture the essence of that experience, and from the trailer's point of view, so clever! I still get giddy with the prospect of a road trip, even if it is in a much smaller vehicle ;-) and when we stop at truck stops...oh my god, I go weak in the knees from the diesel smell...This is amazing. And that last stanza? Solid Poetry Gold. Thank you so damn much for sharing this one, Mark. I love it to pieces.

[Mark]

how is it we seem to be siblings? LOL Glad you liked it KAO and if you ever get the urge to ride a big rig again, I'd be happy to oblige. :)

[KAOlmsted]

You know, ten years ago I'd have taken you up on that ;-)

[Mark]

Always my luck... showing up too late. :P

[eglantine]

In the first stanza, did you mean "their stories" instead of "the stories"? Second stanza, "long black smooth roads" is a bit of a mouthful... Interesting concept though, I applaud the singularity of this metaphor. Great last stanza!

[Mark]

I had originally penned 'their' instead of 'the' but I wanted to make it more epic...