Mile Upon Mile of a Fossil Fueled Asphalt Road

by John G. Evans © 2020

Mirage upon steam-fed mirage gather distance to nowhere; that is, except within my frenzied mind of no-more tolerance.

The terror strikes here. A mind mingled with stone from too many years I’d spent alone.

But rhyme has no closeness here. My heart; frozen. Death but a thought away.

I know, I’ve tried.

Emptied of a half-century; or more…memories, memories of crawling beneath the steeled cage…

Razor-tipped wire, and combat settings, yet, no military award here…didn’t expect one; but only a chance to survive.

A redness of blood fuses with rock and dirt. A shattering of my cervical spine; a detonating report from the dirt-covered mound of TNT.

Is this my time?

No, it was not, grateful to have had time to learn to listen…prayer is the answer to life’s longing.

I know.

This mysterious acceptance delivers me not into enemy hands but into a loving embrace of divine Reality.

Grateful for this journey; within it lay ambiguity without the trust, faith, and courage.

But rest assured; there is life through acceptance, even Mile Upon Mile of a Fossil Fueled Asphalt Road.