As someone who likes a nice pickup truck and lives in a community full of pickup trucks, a poem about pickup trucks will always get my attention. Diane Webster’s poem “Man Pickup” will resonate with anyone who lives in a town with plenty of pickup trucks. More than that, it also playfully speaks to the sense of frustration many of us feel about the situation in the US today. I particularly admire the rhythm of Webster’s lines as well and I’m very happy to share her poem from issue 89.1/2 (and you can check out more from our most recent issue here).

As you likely know, these days are particularly challenging for many cultural institutions, publishers, and little magazines. So even if NDQ doesn’t float your boat, If you can, consider buying a book from a small press, subscribing to a literary journal, or otherwise supporting the arts. I heartily recommend grabbing a copy of the new issue of Hotel Amerika which is celebrating its 20th anniversary by publishing an anthology of some its most creative, provocative, and stimulating work. Grab a copy here.

Man Pickup

Late at night I’d like
to wear a head lamp
like a miner descending
into caves of discovery
and re-customize the man’s pickup.
I’d carefully replace mud flaps
flashing chrome naked women
shivering in moonlight
with nude men pointing the way.
I’d surgically perform
a sex change on the pickup
by removing the plastic testicles
dangling from the trailer hitch
and implant double D breasts
in their place, and I’d peel off
the little-boy-peeing decal
to make room for an Amazon woman
daring you to go ahead and touch her.

~

Diane Webster’s goal is to remain open to poetry ideas in everyday life, nature or an overheard phrase. Diane enjoys the challenge of transforming images into words to fit her poems. Her work has appeared in Home Planet News Online, Eunoia, Talking River Review and other literary magazines.

 

89.1/2