RIDING THE WILD WEST - poetry in stop-start motion

Comment by Peter H on February 21, 2011 at 11:12am

A man far crazier than thy,

who takes the great western hwy,

with space for none but a car or three.

Tis the M4 with a breakdown lane for me.

 

Sorry.

 

But I can't understand how he (you or both) chose the hwy without any type of space between the traffic going 80+ Km/h and the guard rails on the side of the road. I've done it once between Pendle Hill and Blacktown and I will never do it again. The motorway is a much safer place to ride.

 

Comment by Richard Tulloch on February 21, 2011 at 1:03pm

Peter,

A breakdown lane there is, indeed.

But exit lanes at breakneck speed

Must still be crossed.

Heads down, tails up,
Teeth clenched,
Fingers crossed,
Eyes front,
as knuckles whiten... 

 

Comment by Peter H on February 21, 2011 at 1:09pm

Ah yes Richard,

 

For moments of risk there are many yet short

But on the highway your life constanty fraught

with risks from behind you cannot see

for one cannot look behind yet in front of see.

 

Comment by Richard Tulloch on February 21, 2011 at 1:14pm

Sound advice and superb poetry, Peter.

We should both be submitting our efforts to Meanjin asap. It could rival the Banjo Paterson/Henry Lawson poetic correspondence in The Bulletin.

Comment by Peter H on February 21, 2011 at 1:53pm

Sorry Richard, but my ears can only hear the gentle rolling sound of a bike and a poem.

 

PS I've really got nothing left. For if I did I wouldn't be a software engineer.

Comment by Will Wassell on February 21, 2011 at 7:57pm

A rider's trials and tribulations be not kind
were you though carbound
would comfort of ride and effortless speed
dampen in thy minds spark
a yearning, a siren call to 2 wheels?
Think not I, though 4 wheel'd often
two is my calling
two eyes for the joy of sight
ears also two for the pleasure of sound
Legs two and strong, labouring
Two arms adamant 'gainst the bars
Single mouth closed lest song of cycle be disturbed.

Comment by Richard Tulloch on February 22, 2011 at 5:23am

Will, thou leadest the peloton so far...

Perchance we may have started something here
A pedalling poetical career?

For Will, thy second name shouldst be 'Shakespeare'.

Comment by Richard Tulloch on February 22, 2011 at 6:26am

Peter H and Will, I know it's not the Times Literary Supplement, but I've posted your versifications on:

http://richardtulloch.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/pedalling-poets-waxing-lyrical-in-lycra/

Let me know if you'd already sold them elsewhere and need them removed. Otherwise tell all your friends to look at them, then bask in the reflected glory of my vanity publishing.

Comment by Will Wassell on February 22, 2011 at 8:13am

I should thik with the upcoming election pedalling poetical politicists would be a worthy calling, though i note others on the forum have taken up that banner (Sadly minus the prose for most cases).

As for your suggested appelation of Shakespeare, I could not with any sense of conscience claim so lofty a title, call me instead simply Bacon. (Hearty and substantial, always welcome at breakfast but a little bit fatty around the middle!)

Comment by Peter H on February 22, 2011 at 10:51am

Mmmm, bacon. From God's smörgåsbord.

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