The glittering road of no return

RC deWinter

you showed me the path
all glittery with promise
no potholes
no mud
nothing hidden in a tangle of undergrowth
no hilly goat path
just a straight shot
neatly enclosed with rosecovered lattice
to your heart

but
in the japanese tradition
although you showed no evidence
of a particular admiration
for that culture in any other respect
you said no shoes
my feet must walk to your love unshod

i was almost ready to do it
unlace my boots
abandon them to the roadside
take that barefoot journey for love

how clever your trap to cripple me
render any change of heart moot
for as i bent to bare my feet
i looked closely at that glitter of promise
and saw the ground glass embedded
in that straight smooth shot

RC deWinter’s poetry is anthologized in New York City Haiku (NY Times, 2017), Uno: A Poetry Anthology (Verian Thomas, 2002), Cowboys & Cocktails: Poetry from the True Grit Saloon (Brick Street Poetry, April 2019), Havik (Las Positas College, May 2019), Castabout Literature (Dantoin/Hilgart, June 2019) The Flickering Light (Down in the Dirt, June 2019), in print in 2River View, Down in the Dirt, Genre Urban Arts, Meat For Tea: The Valley Review, Pilcrow & Dagger, Pink Panther Magazine, Scarlet Leaf Review, The New York Times and in numerous online literary journals.

© Variant Literature Inc 2021