Douglas Richardson
Douglas Richardson is a poet and novelist who, until just last week, lived in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Jen, now live in Santa Ana. Douglas is the founder of Weak Creature Press and has been published in a few literary journals over the years. In 2013, he won the Poetry Super Highway contest with his entry, “Notes from the Graveyard Shift.” Douglas also enjoys music, Lapham’s Quarterly, tennis, and road trips.


Young Americans Find Freedom

Young Americans find freedom in
abandoned desert motels, chain-link fences
peeled back, fast-food wrappers swirling
in the dirt
 
Who cares if they’re doing drugs?
I hope they’re joking about
the paper strip across the toilet
like it won a beauty pageant
and the bath mat that says
“Welcome to Western Vacationland”
with water-skiers from the 1950s
 
I hope they’re laughing like kaleidoscopes
and dreaming filthy dreams
among the snakes and roaches






© 2017 Douglas Richardson
Douglas Richardson was a Featured Poet at the month 2017 Second Sunday Poetry Series