Shifting Gears by Gail Goepfert

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Shifting Gears
by
Gail Goepfert

Look at the deer, look at the deer,

Grandma said to my brother,

sister and me to distract us
from our displeasure

at being three abreast

in the back seat

of our boring beige Chevy.

It worked then. We always looked.

Deer sightings,

temporary respite

in the landscape of endless

fields of corn and soybeans

up and down Illinois route 66.

Not today.

No child’s eyes leave

the car’s player for DVDs,

handheld playstations,

Facebook posts, cellphone texts.

No ears unglue

from phones or earbuds

for the iPod, the MP3.

Today, if grandma said,

Look at the deer,
Who would look? Who would care?

No one would know

that Grandma’s deer were just cows anyway.

This poem first appeared in After Hours (Fall, 2011).
Used here with the author’s permission.

Gail Goepfert is a poet, amateur photographer, and teacher. Currently, she is an associate editor of RHINO Poetry. Her first chapbook, A Mind on Pain, was released by Finishing Line Press early in 2015, and her poetry and photos appear in numerous print and online publications. Gail lives in the Chicagoland area. Learn more about her at gailgoepfert.com.

Jo:
Like your poem Gail.
Posted 07/18/2012 04:49 PM

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