Meltdown On Main Street Poem by Howard Camner

Love and War intersect here
where Death is a frequent hitchhiker

where stop signs are dictators, yield signs are cowards,
and questions are quarantined

On Main Street
you can pay the toll with your looks alone
and resurrections have the right-of-way

hot dog venders and money lenders mingle in the mix
and troubled troubadours play for change

On Main Street
infidels cross themselves at crosswalks
and traffic laws have no place

You can talk as fast as you want here,
but don't mince words

And if you slow to a crawl
you run the risk of falling behind
in kind

on Main Street
where your past comes into focus
with edges sharp and corners clear

where traffic rolls both ways

but the destination remains the same

on Main Street
where jesters juggle kings
and miracles are many

where man becomes wolf against his will
and the village idiot
in a pointless act of self-betrayal,
sets himself on fire
just to prove a point