13 June: "Wheels" by Jim Daniels

Wheels

My brother kept
in a frame on the wall
pictures of every motorcycle, car, truck:
in his rusted out Impala convertible
wearing his cap and gown
waving
in his yellow Barracuda
with a girl leaning into him
waving
on his Honda 350
waving
on his Honda 750 with the boys
holding a beer
waving
in his first rig
wearing a baseball hat backwards
waving
in his Mercury Montego
getting married
waving
in his black LTD
trying to sell real estate
waving
back to driving trucks
a shiny new rig
waving
on his Harley Sportster
with his wife on the back
waving
his son in a car seat
with his own steering wheel
my brother leaning over him
in an old Ford pickup
and they are
waving
holding a wrench a rag
a hose a shammy
waving.

My brother helmetless
rides off on his Harley
waving
my brother's feet
rarely touch the ground-
waving waving
face pressed to the wind
no camera to save him. 
—Jim Daniels

1 comment:

  1. AJ, I remember this one too. There is a decent amount of overlap in Turning Back to Poetry book.

    Waving is repeated 14 times. All but the last time it is the only word on that line. He is waving goodbye. Is this the brother's destiny?

    It sounds reckless: helmetless, feet off the ground (literally flying), face pressed to the wind (figuratively flying). I'm not sure what the mood is because it could almost be free spirited. How upset should we be with the brother who was also a father and husband? Part of me wants to be happy he got to do what he loved.

    Jimbo

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