Jason Baldinger

every word the wind ever said

I eat a gummi worm
swallow two ibuprofen
throw the tent in the car
if you’ve ever taken a sink bath
in the bathroom of a colorado
springs mcdonald’s after
spending the night in a car
you know exactly how I feel

with the windows down
terry riley’s in c blaring
the wind is tangible
if I closed my eyes now
left them closed
I know I’d end up
anywhere I never expected to be

a friend told me he was lost
somewhere in the west
when he saw his first tumbleweed
he was with his boss
his boss stopped ran after it
saying he was gonna catch it
bring it home

I was somewhere
stray dogs never get old
when I saw my first tumbleweed
I pulled over and cried

there is a romance to the road
the way it leaves us raw and wild
listening to every word the wind ever said

in this bar tonight
the smoke eaters work overtime
the slushies look like american flags
someone is yelling out
who is this nacho
and why the fuck is she with him

someone has abandoned
a half eaten cup of ramen
on an ancient stone wall
fork still inside
it’s the loneliest still life

the air is cooler than the season
the wind gives directions
to a diner where there’s an endless
slice of strawberry rhubarb pie

 


Jason Baldinger is a poet from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A recent Writer in Residence at Osage Arts Community, he is co-founder and co-director of The Bridge Series. He has multiple books available including The Better Angels of our Nature (Kung Fu Treachery) and the forthcoming Everyone’s Alone Tonight with James Benger (Kung Fu Treachery Press). He has done collaboration work with the poets John Dorsey, and Charles Cicarelli, the later can be heard on Bandcamp under the moniker Commissioner Gordon. His work has been published widely in print journals and online. You can listen to him read his work on Bandcamp on lps by the bands Theremonster and The Gotobeds.