Marcia Ball on Texas Avenue (poem by Mary Ciani Saslow, in the style of Texas country music)

Marcia Ball on Texas Avenue (poem by Mary Ciani Saslow, in the style of Texas country music)
Texas Avenue sucks.
Too many high-assed cars nosing smug vans.
Not enough trucks.
With any luck
I’ll get to Bryan before dark.
I pass a four car pileup,
a state trooper in shades.
Maybe I should chuck
it all and move to Snook.
It still goes both ways
in Aggie land, U.S.A.,
but now it’s just an L.A. street,
More crowded than a mosh
pit,
Pico with no carwash.
Finally I catch a rhythm,
Marcia Ball is singing
“you’ll find another fool,”
her Mama’s cookin’ with a
sweet dark roux.
We caught her at the Cantina,
bringing us good, good news,
red nails flying on the piano keys;
and legs
as long as Texas Avenue.
Poem copyright Mary Ciani Saslow.