A 1,000 Voices

how you must’ve reeled
in the embarrassment
of not being chosen,
but then simplicity
and down-to-earthness
were the orders of the day
how hot did you burn
in the wake of my easy going-ness,
losing to the preference of me
a simple minded country boy out of kentucky?

i had never lived outside the commonwealth
but the big island was not so different
with it’s EZ Pass way of life
and its drunken aloha spirit
hindering the pace of time:
simple pleasures came too easy

then the big city came calling
who was i to resist the siren’s call
of hustling life, dazzling lights
bustling commutes, dizzying fast pace
fruits of knowledge hang low
over dirty concrete
rich for the picking and presentation
in lime-laced cosmopolitan glasses
then i became aware of my lacking
my tongue craved the gray goose martinis
feet wanted to waltz on the boulevard of stars
mouth speaking directions to tourists
as if i could direct them to the nearest versace
eyes resting in grand rooms above central park
big city meted out materialism
trampling this country boy, roots and all

now, i’ve returned
with the aftertaste
of success fading
yet no less starstruck

finally, it is you may laugh
at the burning in my core
knowing continents have shifted
and our universes reversed