Houston Surrounds
Bold, alive, thriving, and boundless with
lip-smacking barbecued ribs and brisket;
all kinds of beer, hard liquor, drugs, and sex;
and plenty of down-home southern charm.
BUT. . .
Plagued with ungodly heat and humidity;
destructive hurricanes and tornadoes;
and heavy rains, levee leaks, and flooding.
Brimming with ants, roaches, and mesquites;
scorpions, black widows, and brown recluses;
and copperheads, cottonmouths, and rattlers.
Lots of drab concrete and asphalt and exposed
to wind-blown, polluted northern air with
added pollutants from nearby refineries.
Crowded with heavy traffic and congestion,
lots of car accidents, crime ridden streets,
and poverty and homelessness in plain sight.
Out of sight and rising property taxes, and
arrogant, loud, and racist Texans, driving
pickups with six-packs and guns within reach.
Endless influx of people from other states,
threatening to turn its conservative confines
into the progressive messes they left behind.
BUT AGAIN. . .
Bold, alive, thriving, and boundless with
lip-smacking barbecued ribs and brisket;
all kinds of beer, hard liquor, drugs, and sex;
and plenty of down-home southern charm.
Copyright © 2024 Frank Zahn. Published in Adelaide Literary Magazine, Number 70, November 2024, https://adelaidebooks.org/eulah-mae.