Texas
by Alan Toltzis
I flew
into the west Texas sunset,
miles of brown-grey plains
rigged and pumping under me.
The day deepened like love,
the way orange paint
dies back
two shades
as it dries.
Process Notes: Sometimes, I carry images around with me for decades before they work their way into a poem. That’s the case here. Once, I watched miles and miles of oil wells as I was flying to the West coast. About 30 years later, after I had painted a door the same shade as that sunset, I was reminded of the view from the window of the plane and wrote the poem.
Alan Toltzis is the author of 49 Aspects of Human Emotion, The Last Commandment, and Nature Lessons. A two-time Pushcart nominee, he has published in numerous print and online journals including, Grey Sparrow, The Wax Paper, Black Bough Poetry, Eye Flash Poetry, and Poetry NI. Find him online at alantoltzis.com and follow him @ToltzisAlan.
Red Wolf Journal 