The idea for this came from something simple: a piece of broken mirror on the side of the highway that nearly blinded me while driving. Pained, I exclaimed, “Ugh, it’s like the sun’s on the side of the road!” And something about the rhythm of that phrase stuck with me. As I thought more about it, I recognized an opportunity to write something less self-serious than most of the poems that I’ve been doing lately. I mean, poetry acts primarily as my outlet for thoughts and emotions about what’s happening around me in the world. I use them to process. This became something more fun, though not without its own point by the end.

I hope you enjoy!

The Sun’s on the Side of the Road

The sun’s
on the
side
of the
road.
I’m not sure
which one
of us dropped
it
but it’s there,
blazing to high heaven
off the shoulder
of I43.
In my day,
stars
stayed up in the sky,
but now,
folks’re finding’em
in every culvert
and parking lane
from here
to Black Earth.
Still, thos’re just stars;
this is the sun
on the side of the road.
It’s not every day
you see a piece of the heavens
on Earth.
Probably every third day
at most,
so this is mighty special.
Y’know, some say
that all these stars crashing
down
means something’s gone real wrong;
that we broke the sky
and soon
the night won’t be aught but darkness
split
wide
like a mouth looking to swallow.
But I think it’s fine.
Who’s to say
this ain’t how it’s meant to be
with stars falling
and the sun on
the side of
the road?
I took a picture as I drove by.
Turned out nice.