Red

the fewtch

The bike of my father

The bike of my sister

The bike of my brother

The bike of my mother

Stolen, all.

My bike lies

beside the garage

and has grown

weeds like a bag

of concrete, left

in the rain, sniffed

by dogs.

A purple cable.

The turn signal in

my car makes a sound

so quiet I can't

recognize it's on.

Reviews

[ms. understood]

Reading this makes me feel like you're missing something in life. Maybe even how as we grow older we miss simpler times of being kids and able to ride our bikes.Things weren't as hard then as they are now. Take a moment for yourself. Slow down a bit. Reflect. Good write!

[The Twin Arenas]

Thanks for the read. I don't necessarily think "I" am missing things, but an old s**t bike makes a great metaphor for things like this. You got it, you know what I'm after here. Slowing down is for the dying!

[Moonie]

I feel a sense of loss, and corruption. It feels like "bike" is a metaphor for innocence, and although the poet has moved onto other virtues(the car), that gaping hole can never be refilled. I really liked the visual of the weed- wrought bike, remindes me of the poem, "The Red Wheelbarrow".

[The Twin Arenas]

Thanks for the read, doc.

[Stephanie]

I loved this. It's almost abstract but it 100% leaves you feeling something that I can't quite describe yet. Either way, this was great.

[The Twin Arenas]

Thanks, Stephanie. I always aim to paint the corners.

[Robert Trakofler]

I am left wanting.... a sense of regret and hopelessness.... yet the call of the silent signal is a glimmer of hope to an underpinning of the untenable

[Frederika]

Funny and tragically beautiful at the same time.

[Davidgeo]

You should change the last line to "recognize that it's on". It fits better.

[likesgreeneggsandham]

Heartbreaking. Truly beautiful in its sadness. It speaks to me of lost ways, lost opportunities and a loss of self felt so deeply you can't as you say even sense what direction you're going in. I love the line that stands alone - a purple cable - perhaps all the things that hold one back. I also adore the structure of the poem - all the family grouped together and then the one bike left alone. Very nicely done

[The Twin Arenas]

Thanks. It's alright. To be honest, I've haven't wrote much here for a long time. For awhile, I was madman on it and put out some stuff I'm quite proud of, or don't hate, years later. I'm trying to find my swing again - get out all the hitches.

[likesgreeneggsandham]

I think your lack of commitment to the poem perhaps shows that turn signal aint working. I thoroughly enjoyed it's dark ways

[The Twin Arenas]

It's a pre-game meal. I'm still stretching. I don't want to pull anything.