We Pass
gas stations, grain silos, a small cemetery,
telephone poles marching single file,
mills, a bowling alley, fast food chains
with names that we all recognize,
a maze carved into a corn field, red barns
protected by Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs,
homes, over-populated parking lots, a pickup truck
flying a miniature flag from its tailgate,
two-tone cows, West Main Street,
imperative slogans telling us which cola to drink,
roadside attractions – a railroad museum
and the oldest turkey farm in the nation,
a placard advertising real estate,
saying Rental and Sales on one side
with NO WAR NO WAR on the other
in a black scrawl that looks like its dripping.
