DAILY PHOTO: St. Charles, Illinois

DAILY PHOTO: Milwaukee Ave. Murals, Chicago

DAILY PHOTO: Willis Tower

DAILY PHOTO: Chicago River

Due West, All Day [Free Verse]

driving due west
   at day's end,

the sun too low for visors,
   an angry sun, 
      flaring in one's sunglasses.

the interminable tick-tocks
    it takes for the sun to drop
      down behind the mountains.

oh, how one wishes
    the sun would disappear,

even though, having driven all day,
    there's something demoralizing
      about knowing you require a couple
      more hours of dark drive time 
      before pulling into a motel.

such a big country, 
    so much West remains.

Rickety Gibberish [Free Verse]

A long time ago,
 I listened to the audiobook of
    Kerouac's "On the Road."

In that format, 
   I became aware of how often
     Kerouac used the word
       "rickety." 

Almost as aware as I became
   of how often Twain uses
      the N-word in Huck Finn
      when I unwisely listened to 
      that audiobook while driving
      through downtown Atlanta
      with my windows rolled down. 

I'm now reading Hunter Thompson's
   "Kingdom of Fear," and I've become
      aware that Thompson had a love
      of the word "gibberish" almost on par
      with Kerouac's love of "rickety."

And I think about how much beautiful
   rickety gibberish I've read from those
      authors, and what a fine 
      thing it is if one can write 
      rickety gibberish that stands up 
      under its own weight. 

DAILY PHOTO: Field of Black Eyed Susans

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DAILY PHOTO: Beach House

DAILY PHOTO: Small Falls

DAILY PHOTO: Indiana Central Canal

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