Keillor to read poem by Dr. Larry Smith

Congratulations to Dr. Larry Smith. I hear that one of the poems from his tremendous collection, A River Remains, will be read on the Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac radio show on Saturday Nov. 8th...whatever time it plays in your area. "This is always an appreciation to have your work shared on such a populist network," Smith said.

Here is the poem:


FOLLOWING THE ROAD
I have left my wife at the airport,
flying out to help our daughter
whose baby will not eat.
And I am driving on to Kent
to hear some poets read tonight.
I don’t know what to do with myself
when she leaves me like this.
An old friend has decided to
end our friendship. Another
is breaking it off with his wife.
I don’t know what to say
to any of this—Life’s hard.
And I say it aloud to myself,
Living is hard, and drive further
into the darkness, my headlights
only going so far.
I sense my own tense breath, this fear
we call stress, making it something else,
hiding from all that is real.
As I glide past Twin Lakes,
flat bodies of water under stars,
I hold the wheel gently, slowing my
body to the road, and know again that
this is just living, not a trauma
nor dying, but a lingering pain
reminding us that we are alive.