time rides a river—
memories rust
like old bullet holes
in highway signs—
sighs of relief
now that you've
all gone
moved along
with your hard facts
about the bags
of flag-wrapped kids
who ate red dirt
on height-numbered
killing hills—
celebrated at home
with silent songs
of praise
in secret parades
down vacant
american avenues—
immortalized by artists
with too many names
selling monuments
selling paintings
selling empty frames
after another night
of stumbling done-in
down metropolis streets—
too fucked-up to fly
superman lies
eyes closed
still under the influence—
naked in the space
between night & day
conjuring pathetic
x-ray visions
of a spent comic book hero
too tired
to walk through walls
or leap tall buildings
with a single bound
too strung out
to keep it all
from falling down—
dead certain
that truth, justice
& the american way
are no longer worth
the never-ending battle
so,
for the sixth time tonight
the frustrated
man of steel
grabs the .38
from the bedside table—
puts it to his head
& pulls the trigger
making
that long journey
across space
trailing a veil
of righteous light
coming—
to close the door
on this wasted
undertaking—
coming—
to throw a black shroud
over his son's
forever-sorrowed face
coming—
to pull the plug
on that high-voltage
love
that's been hanging
over all of time
a flashing neon sign
screaming—
"look what I did for you"
coming—
too late
to decode
this baffling
black book
of innuendo
too late
to show us
where he's
been living
undiscovered—
in the gray space
between book
chapter & verse
Originally from South Carolina, DB Cox resides in Watertown, MA.
At the age of 14, picked up the guitar, and a couple of years later played his first paying job with a band. After a 4-year stint with the Marines, spent a few years in the southeast playing in clubs and bars. In 1978, moved to Boston to attend the Berklee School of Music. Eventually found the blues circuit in New England.
He enjoys writing poetry for the same reason he loves playing the guitar; a way to communicate how he feels, at a given time, on a given day.