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Living At The End Of The Road

Sagebrush somersaults across the open
plain like fragrant spinning stars of Van Gogh.
It's windy in Wyoming. Suicide weather.
No barriers to stop it. They say the telephone
pole is the state tree. Miles without the living.
Lots of drive-up liquor stores. Abandoned
mining towns. Petroglyphs of alien figures.
A few markers with the names of the long
forgotten who left everything to find nothing
more than a place to bury every dream
or go mad listening to the wind's tedious voice.

I like it. I would axe Van Gogh.
I would axe " tedious voice" and stop with wind.
Nice line break on nothing. Very bleak.

I agree with Ken... the Van Gogh image is good but not for this poem. Save it for something else. Love the telephone pole. Good poem... but agree the end needs a better punch line.

Billy I had a thought about Native Americans somehow getting a nod in this poem. I recall some of your work referencing that topic. Just a thought. Good as is

Billy this is top drawer
I know you have been concerned at your muse lately
I think state tree has been said before but I still like it,
Van Gogh overused imo
Short and sweet, you could add a little more but very good.

Van Gogh committed suicide. He may have had a mental illness. His spinning stars and the wind. Sorry, I think I'll keep Van Gogh. The tedious voice can go. I wasn't sure I liked that either.

Thanks for the comments.

I like the poem.
I do not find anything that should be dropped,
It is your poem, you know the best.

Kenneth, the petroglyphs are referencing Native Americans but maybe you are wanting more than that. The inspiration for the poem was not a Native American perspective.

Thanks Kenneth Bob Frank Meena