You Can Change Your Life in Arkansas

Especially if you fly on Christmas,
the hours in the air a meditation
upon the months and year. You think salvation
might be yours if only you shake your fist
at some old slight, look ahead to this
in-between state, a place of transition
between east, west, north, south. It’s like fiction,
you think, these strange and busy weeks. Success
seems elusive. Yet isn’t it success
to think freely, as you’re doing now, high
above clouds, imagining how your art
will sustain you. Colorado, Texas,
Arkansas. Guitar, paintbrush, canvas. Why
make the mind do all the work? Invite the heart.

Share this
Continue Reading
About the Author

Ken Waldman combines original poetry, old-time string-band music, and smart storytelling for a performance uniquely his. Touring since 1995, he's appeared from the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage to the Dodge Poetry Festival to the Woodford Folk Festival (Queensland, Australia). 20 books consist of 16 full-length poetry volumes, a memoir, a creative writing manual, a kids' book, and his 2022 novel, Now Entering Alaska Time. Twelve CDs include two for children.

Ken Waldman
Author Websites
More Posts by this author…