The End of August, The End of the Road

From my latest book, Vanishing Fair, available on Amazon.


Everybody wants to rule the world
I didn't then and still don't
Because like most things of supposed value
It would be way too much work
But what I did want to do
As my best buddy Jeff and I
Were listening to that Tears For Fears manifesto
On our way back from 
The Little Gem Diner
In the north end of Syracuse
While the sun came up
What I really wanted to do
Was to get away from everything
I could see with my bloodshot eyes
As the view from Route 81
Was the same passing blur it had been
Since high school
I not only knew why I wanted to leave
But where I wanted to go
The mysterious city of Toronto
That had captured my heart and soul
On previous excursions upwards
In the past few years
All this I knew at that eye bleeding hour
With the sun burning my corneas
Even though I couldn't say it
From lack of energy or understanding
To anyone who could listen
Especially my best buddy, Jeff
Who was chain smoking his Winstons
And contemplating similar 
Exit strategies of his own


Copyright 2020 by Steve Keil