The Angry Willow

frustration and heartbreak

i'm going leave the stink of the city

climb into my aging Ford Explorer and drive out to the angry willow

and while i drive i'll count road kill while smoking Export A cigarettes

watching the white line whiz past and 

bellow my heart out to songs on the radio

until my f*****g throat is raw

and i won't stop until i get there...

on the way i'll drink Pilsner beer out of a coffee mug 

and swear at a*****e drivers and strung out truckers 

while bellowing out my songs until the sun drops into the horizon 

like a big red ball of burning gasoline

and i'll drive as close as my truck can get 

to that secret spot and when I stop

i'll take a piss then stagger the rest of the way

through shallow streams and bush, tripping over rocks

and swatting at mosquitoes 

until i am beneath the tangled and ancient branches

of the angry willow

where it's always cool and country quiet 

and darker than Hades this time of night

And i'll listen to the crickets chirp and the wood doves coo

while relaxing amid the incessant mating calls

of leopard frogs and rest my drunken body

beneath the bent and crooked arms of the angry willow

thinking about the b***h who broke my heart

and while the distant coyotes yip and howl 

i'll be drinking Pilsner beer out of my coffee mug

and staring at the pock-faced moon hanging

like a disinterested eye in a cloud swept sky 

high above the twisted boughs of the angry willow

and i'll count falling stars until i pass out

then wake slowly to the buzz of fat blue-bottle flies

dive bombing my face while my hang-over thrums...

and the mosquitoes swarm 

beneath the gnarled and twisted limbs of the angry willow

where my soul

hollowed and aching

becomes one with the damp earth

and rotting vegetation

and before i think too long or too hard 

about the hopelessness of my situation

i'll count my change 

and check my watch to see if the liquor stores are open 

and while i wait i'll listen to belligerent crows

squawking overhead not giving a s**t if i'm living or dead

Author's Note

Photo credit: Michael Clark

Reviews

[Stanley Wilson]

great story flowed really well loved the last verse in particular

[felioness]

Thank you! I am honoured that you took the time to read!

[soliloquy]

Nice......you are a free spirit?

[felioness]

In some ways I suppose I am. Thanks for reading.

[soliloquy]

And honest too?

[felioness]

Oh, more honest than some folk but less than others!

[soliloquy]

Do you have a certain write you want reviewed? I would be happy to.

[Dr. Wood ?]

great story..graphically told..It would make a great opening to a longer piece...maybe a story..or a book..You have power in your words..I loved this

[felioness]

Why thank you ever so much, you made my day!

[Dr. Wood ?]

just keep writing...it's important that we all do at least that

[Tom]

I love real poetry, those poems that cling to you in the way memories do, they don't touch you or feather emotions but grip you and tear at the truths of what you are, for me this is one of those poems, it is a mirror to my experiences and thoughts. I loved it as you probably guessed.

[felioness]

I am utterly captivated by your words. Thank you for such an encouraging review!

[bob, small b. aka invs]

i never thought of a willow as being angry. to me they seem sorta complacent. just hanging there. that's what brought me to this poem. but after reading it, i see that it might be the narrator that brings the anger to the willow. anyway, i'm glad i read this. this is the second of your poems i've read and both are amazing little stories. this one is interesting in how very male it is. piss, burp, scratch, etc.. it even captured the lack of thought inherent in a male dealing with issues. women analyze. men ignore. nicely done. i'm off to read more.

[felioness]

The photo of this tree was taken by my friend. It is in a secret place near my cottage at Manitou Lake. Years before i wrote this I tagged it as the Angry Willow because, although I agree with you in general about most willows..in real life, this one really does look angry!!! Thanks for the read!

[Arthur Henn]

Please don't take what I'm about to say wrong... Smiling at myself... I am.

Felioness... This is a masterpiece of reality of man... written by a woman's soul...

When I first started reading... I thought - Oh My! she's rough... lol and smiling, then seeing its a mans perspective written by a beautiful woman's soul... I liked this writing and the way you portrayed this man... He is in all us men... A+ (I applaud you)

Art

[felioness]

Your comment was a treat...because you understood what I was trying to do, and because you called me beautiful!!!

[John Patrick Robbins AK..]

Love the fire in this and the true raw cut through the bullshit sense once im always a fan of dam fine work my only regret is i havent read you sooner cheers and stay crazy Gonzo

[felioness]

Hey, thanks for that damned fine review! Makin me head swell! I must read your work!

[John Patrick Robbins AKA Gonzo]

Was just the truth my friend always admire work with some grit
And if ya do read my work i'll say sorry ahead of time haha cheers

[Eagle Cruagh]

Coming from you I LMAO .
Drinking pilsner beer out of a coffee
mug while swearing at a*s hole drivers and strung
out truckers then you take a piss and settle down
under the angry willow, with the mosquitoes.
You have become one with the a*s hole drivers and
other denizens of the city while you escape to the
angry willow.
You have slipped out of your pink panties and donned
the garb of the male truck driver who abandoned his
rig and escaped to the angry willow.
Great job ! Exceptionally graphic imagry and descriptive
liberty. Fantastic---- I think I have fallen in love with
your writing.
---- Eagle Cruagh

[felioness]

Again I am honoured and now humbled by your words. The swelling of my head has subsided ... it has become ...too much. I cannot express my gratitude. thank you.

[Eagle Cruagh]

Relax and enjoy . Most of us would just smile from ear to ear
if we felt so accepted, so special and so talented.

[Sami Khalil]

where my soul
hollowed and aching
becomes one with the damp earth
and rotting vegetation...
Very poetic Felioness.

[felioness]

Thanks!

[Sami Khalil]

You are quite welcome...

[Antonio Valentino]

enjoyed the raw honesty in this.

i think we all need these kinds of drives to a secret spot now and then..

very interesting.. thanks for sharing..

:)

[felioness]

Thanks!!!

[Antonio Valentino]

of course... it was a very unique and worthwhile read.. :)