‘Edenbray in Exile’
A Retrospective Anthology of Poetry, Articles and Essays
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THE LONG DRIVE

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‘Pietri, I say Pietri you are the sweetest boy a’ the three’
He mumbled something inaudible in return
He was sure, stripped to the waist and sweating
The sun scratching at him, a muzzled curr on heat
Black scars to his bronze back say a lot more than his drawl
‘Misters Paul and Danno I ain’t got no more energy in ma’ tank’
He gripped the oily wrench and pushed down hard
Breaking the seal and finishing with a toss of greasy, black hair
‘It sure is hot ma’ boy you deserves a cool, long drink’
A skunk lizard scrambled across the yard and the sky hung holy
As a bhoy I had eaten one of tham damn thangs, cooked on grass and stones
All I could think of today was bloody steak, red an’ like a woman’s hole
‘You be okay now Misters, I’ll write you a ticket.’
I handed the boy a twenty and told him not to trouble
‘You just tell that mean bastard I called in for gas that’s all!’
‘Cos you know that it’s more than juss’ lizards are watching us speak’
The boy wiped his hands on a raw cloth hanging from his grey overalls
He had the sweetest face I thought, ripe and sallow like a Coachela Valley date
It glistened strong and thoughtful as he accepted another note for the gas
He retreated to the shade of the wooden outhouse to fetch change
I heard the cry of a red-shouldered hawk shoot across the flat lands
Which sends ice down my cerebral nerve, arrests me, waking my soul
Once heard a bluejay mimic that same sound but he was juss’ too ornery
The boy had returned and he took time returning my fourteen cents
I always knew I had spent too much damn money keeping that ve-hikle perky
We drove that road with that birds call cooler than a minty mohito stretched on ice
T’was the only cold thing about that day I returned to Bakersfield County
Parked up my night-green Lincoln in the lane that led to our father’s house
.
writtenbyedenbray06.03.2013
edited24.02.2017
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#Authors Note ~ This is yet another opening salvo selected from either a Short Story, a Chapter in a Novel, or an Essay, you choose …. When I was at school we were taught to write essays – with 3 paragraphs including an Introduction, the Heart of your story and a Conclusion…
This piece is more of a Poetic Essay – where timing and tenor are important. I sometimes wonder if children today even know what a Poem is but that sounds like I am too old to care – Thanks for reading again today: edenbraytoday















EDENBRAY in EXILE – 6 – hydrate
‘Edenbray in Exile’
A Retrospective Anthology of Poetry, Articles and Essays
…
#6
hydrate . . .
◯﹅2
inhalate
infiltrate
expatriate
violate
annihilate
pontificate
remonstrate
sublimate
venerate
regenerate
exonerate
exfoliate
hydrate
2◯﹆th⊂ENTURYboy
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writtenbyedenbray05.08.2012
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#Authors Note :- Something a little different today – this piece is definitely from my Prog-prose portfolio – A poem of one-word lines that I wrote 8 years ago but which somehow seems to fit in to today’s scenario as much as it did then and if anything is even more relevant due to the enormous problems we face currently.
I try not to slip into endless or repetitious jargon about or around COVID-19 but you can’t run away from it. The truth is, the world has to wake up! – Today it is sick and humankind has to learn to be healthier and to challenge those who aren’t and who invite potentially unhealthy, lethal or evil (depending on your viewpoint) germs or viruses into ‘our’ Global village!
This piece for me challenges humankind perfectly and without judgement in all of those areas of concern and the issues that the current epidemic has thrown up in all our faces.
Be strong! – edenbraytoday
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