Lyft

I slid into the back seat

an occupant

tattoos with red hair steering in front of me

the sound of a gracious voice and a swift hello

a recent smell of a cigarette

not so harsh as to offend

 

my Nina lived eighty years with lungs filled with smoke

she was a nurse and knew what she knew

died in a sunset surrounded by loved ones 

all of us capped in stories

 

but this girl was a driver

and just as everything has a currency

so did she

we talked as the city lights flashed on over off

and I listened carefully to the sound of her spilling pain

 

“Police involvement, panic attacks, an ambulance and

domestic violence-

a father trying to get his daughter out from underneath a madness, “I take Xanax”, she said as the car swerved to and fro 

 

“I’m a nurse as well, somedays, and a driver when I get the chance but this world is a monster and no one listens anymore”

 

I thought about that, about war,

cruelty, civility and

what different ages endure, different things

different countries, different cultures and the slow churn that writes us right over most of our days

strange what paraphrases will become 

The moon sat red inside her cracked side-mirror 

high-rises and the speckled windows of late night workers still hard into their solitude

 

What does it all mean?

 

I told her she was not alone

perhaps better days were not so far along

Lose it all if you must, then find yourself again

 

The car slowed, door opened…a green restaurant filled with

the same emptiness

I read the coming story of the night

picked up my "Oliver and Basho"

The driver thanked me from her haze

but I smiled, rekindling her concerns and thanking her for the ride and so much more

 

At the entrance of the pub was a pretty young woman

she stood there ogling my books and led me into the bar

a cucumber martini and tuna plate with oysters made the mark

 

Over the drone I stared into Paris, into Iceland, Whales

Turkey, Russia and Peru

wondering if it all came around this way

their buildings,

their moons, the dark blue evenings over each headlight

I sipped away and fell into a trance

fascinated by the architect of what must be

 

I left the tip and slid into another seat

the air now a manipulative rainy perfume

this woman was well as she was kind..took Xanax

screaming over missed exits and laughter

the radio paired into silence..

"This world IS a monster", I thought…Hard at work

even now.

Reviews

[Ruth]

This is so well written! You have a novel in this :) Brilliantly woven - so many stories we become by listening, sharing and witnessing - the world is a small place so they say. Sometimes to know one is not alone is to survive another day I think...I really enjoyed this poem Perdition :)

[Perdition]

"It was a dark and stormy night"...lol. Thank you so much, Ruth, and yes I couldn't agree more.." to know one is not alone is (sometimes more than) to survive another day"...so wonderfully put
. Smiles~

[lightsong]

You don't write poetry, You write novels. this puts me in the mood of many years ago when I read Zorba I was 14, 15? not sure and how I cried when Zorba died at the end. simple people who make meaning in life, simple people whom are considered "neglected" holding a honest yet different meaning of living. there are countless people on this earth, countless humans, sometimes it's really amazing if we think how after all, all of them are connected in one realm, still, how sometimes we meet few, by chance, destined, fate... or whatever is the reason, few from those countless ones like your Nina here affecting us, and touching us with the humanistic bond like all these countless humans are there within this one person. yes, it can be strange, but human emotions can go deep to a place where You can't express, better not speak a lot but few words that says it all, like You did there, and just to reach your human heart of understanding and empathy to them, what's genuine and real is felt in the same way.

[Kerra]

I could see this in a movie, This is wonderful, awesome imagery

[Perdition]

Why not...thank you Kerra!

[emmajoy]

Your words open what could so easily be a movie.. think black and white, music soft to allow surrounding city noises sing out. to guide thoughts into the scene. You've used an almost simple tone of words, of phrasing.. so that time flows start to finish quite quickly. YET in between is a helter-skelter of this and that shared, sights and settings varying. BUT the passenger gives little away, even when thinking. Did wonder if the cab is mere space, plus, passenger and driver one person, Will need think more or return. Perhaps both. An Interesting journey to say the least, well written, different.

[Perdition]

"I kept my eyes on the road my hands upon the wheel"..lol. "Going to a roadhouse.." Okay, I'll stop the Doors analogy but what a welcome visit. You wanna play the driver? I'll brush off the old dusty camera and we can do this in a Burroughs "Naked Lunch" genre, a sort of Beat and undercurrent feel to it. Then again maybe Dharma Bums or the Big Sur sounds of the ocean?

Loved your take and detail in your review and as always, such wonderful insight. Look forward to what more if anything you throw my way as far as these reflections. Thank you, good Poet .. a rare and wonderful treat indeed~

[Gypsy Warrior Queen]

I'm here scratching at the walls...mumbling about not being able to match the greys... and there you are still writing great thoughts in so many different altitudes, making me miss poetry even more....

[Perdition]

Full diet of Ted Kooser or Van Gogh VR exhibits on toast and don't forget your daily dose of Aubrey Plaza...beyond that, I can't help ya...lol. Mountain streams and just that story running through your head that won't let ya sleep....you have the words kiddo...always have. WRITE!! Thanks~ ;)

[Poetic Beauty]

The world indeed can be a crazy place and sometimes we encounter stories in the least expected places.

I love the story woven in this piece. Real people with real problems

[Perdition]

I was right there as one of them, of course..haha. Thank you Poetic Beauty!

[Poetic Beauty]

You are most welcome

[jacob erin-cilberto]

is that what this pandemic is teaching us? Maybe. That it is time to just lose everything, and then start over.
It's almost like the great flood, the ark, the starting over. When pain is spilled it will undoubtedly
splash on us. I could see this as the lyft driver simply being imagined.
Maybe the speaker is just going through thoughts in his head about all that is happening now and trying to make sense of it, wishing he could just get in lyft and be driven to someplace innocent, fresh, away from all the madness.
I really like this piece, obviously.
j.

[Perdition]

Hey there stranger!! Oh! and drivers and were real along with the town and sun, both shutting down...you're the second person today to mention "Noah" in relation to this pandemic, strange happenstance..glacier melt worries? Thanks, Teach!! Always appreciate the good words from noble sources. I keep reading your poetry..will throw a review in soon as I get back from a Lifesaver Gummies run ...staples first of course..ya need anything just let me know..Smiles J.!