R. D. Roy

Poems

These Tattoos | Road to Havana | Comfort | With Lisa before the Bell Tolls

Road to Havana

On the bus to Havana
the 4 lane highway is bordered
with the shrunken bellies of drought marked palms
We pass a tractor stalled and steaming
in the good rusty earth
for want of spare parts
Another imposition
of punitive power
another crop delayed

We share our journey
with pre-revolution relics
the rolling remnants
of plump fendered Fords and Chevys
Tough side-carred Yugoslavian motorcycles
Massive and menacing Soviet trucks
which unsupported now
remain steadfast in their duty

Everywhere here
it is threadbared
made cobbled to work
bentbacked and sweating
refusing to buckle
with dignity
and unbroken

I am reminded
that nothing is taken
for granted here
Recycling is a foriegn concept
where nothing can be wasted
This is survival
a necessary culture

I am also made to remember
that these quiet people
who give so much to others
are at war ...under siege
and though they would not ask it
I am always inspired
and humbled
among them

© Copyright 2008 RDRoy