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2 Pieces by Bruce Harris Bentzman
tokaido
the bullet train takes me from tokyo to kyoto
one city does not end and another begin
but each city and town between pours into the next
houses squeeze against factories and refineries
busy expressways conceal the coastline
peaks are disrupted by high-tension towers
i suppose the steep pass at hakone
is no longer plagued with bandits
that one no longer awkwardly crosses the abe river
on the backs of half-naked porters
waiting for you to come home
waiting for you to come home
it is the steady rain hard against
the pavement against the roof against
the half frozen ground of winter
that conjures voices in adjacent rooms
has me searching for a radio left on
but find it's just you missing
Bruce Harris Bentzman writes: "This Bronx born bard has been orbiting
the Sun since 1951. I grew up, but very lowly, mostly in the suburbs of
Philadelphia. An average student whose academic education petered
out about midway through college. Lots of jobs. Succeeded in a second
marriage, and this time it was a package deal that included two kids,
now grown. Presently, I support this writing habit by working for AT&T as
a Communications Technician. I am a practicing Peripatetic Minister of
Secular Humanism." Benztman's poems and stories have appeared in
many online journals, including The Alsop Review, The Free Cuisenart,
Gruene Street, In Vivo Magazine, The Morpo Review, Southern Ocean
Review, Zuzu's Petals Quarterly, and previously in The Blue Moon
Review. He writes a montly column called "Suburban Soliloquies" for
the journal Snakeskin .
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