Poetry
You can buy a Singapore Lego set from a vending machine at the Las Vegas airport.
Build your own escapist realism
Brick by brick
While someone uses the courtesy phone
And calls home to say they gambled it all
away before they hit the yellow road.
All the celebrities on the billboard eating cake pops
Enticing some trapeze heart to swing into
The rainbow of fame.
At the sugar factory
They keep stirring the pot
Elixir to fill the void.
Someone plays a Willy wonky slot machine for a chance
At gold chocolate brink
That melts under
a Nevada sun
Most are on the brink of bankruptcies
Or buyouts
Or massaging the pit boss
And spinning bow ties
That mystifies
At no cost to the viewer.
Don’t sell your soul on the tram
It has a blue sheet of plastic that is
Textures to give you deeper sense
Of touch
A sail quiver in the car rental line
Everyone wasting time in the wind
Not shooting the breezes.
Every time we toast life
We say trim your
fuzzies
Disheveled for everyone’s safety
Rebel guidelines
Neon kitten claws
In the 80’s upholstery
Or drag billboards with endless
Applause
Emergency hatch on the roof
Of the delay to paradise
Regained
Your taking her to the casting call
The soundstage is a destination
To give it all up
A free upgrade to mid size
When the world is large enough.
Francis A willey
March 29 2023
Las Vegas