Alternative America ~ poetry by John Grey

turtle race
at Northeastern University,
29 foot marathon course –

Billy the Kid reenactment,
cow chip tossing,
world championship cornstalk shoot –

Esley Hallett’s historic timepieces:
water clocks, sundials, hour glasses –

International Worm Fiddling contest –

gondola on the Wabash,
village of violets,
house of “Little Boy Blue”
bird carving in Salisbury,
bump-jumping in Petoskey,
pumpkin show in Circleville –

this is an America of plowing contests,
rattlesnake roundups,
pony swims
and flounder fishing with a spear –

so go pitch a mule-shoe,
enter a chili cook-off,
join a hobo convention,
try snow snurfing on the slopes –

remember,
if it’s not in the guide-book,
you need to be there

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in Soundings East, Dalhousie Review and Qwerty with work upcoming in West Trade Review, Willard & Maple, and Connecticut River Review.