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�I have emerged from a ten year silence,� writes Steve De France.
�In the last year I have had more than a hundred publications, in various
zines. I have two new books: �Dancing on the Head of a Pin, by the Phoenix
Press, and �Electric Snakes in the Twilight� by Alpha Beat Press.
�I have fought as an amateur prize fighter, played the world
champion in table tennis, dug swimming pools in Texas, worked as a
professional actor on stage, appeared in film and television in Hollywood,
and washed dishes.
�For the past ten years I have been a tenured professor of English
and Literature for the Los Angeles Community College District.�
Short Cut
by Steve De France
There is a jumper standing
on the 105 freeway overpass.
Twenty stories high, perched on a ledge,
swaying like a hawk in high wind.
He�s ready to launch himself
down on the Harbor Freeway.
The freeway as unmoving as any cemetery.
Commuter cars log-jammed by police blockades.
From my car, I watch the man next to me.
It�s cold today. But I see sweat
gather at his collar, drip over his back.
Making a round wet puddle, a drop at a time....
People straining necks skyward.
A helicopter circles.
Sirens labor up the Diamond Lane.
We�re down here,
looking up at you.
Cursing you for holding up
traffic. Some of us want
the police sharp-shooter
to put a bullet between your eyes.
Humanity just doesn�t have it.
We just don�t care, anymore.
We want to see you fall,
but out of traffic lanes.
We�re tired out.
Too much murder.
Too many movies.
Too much inhumanity.
You see, the State is paid to care for people like you: 9-5
We just want to get on down the L.A. Freeway.
Nervous. Sleepless. Sweating.
Maybe we should take the short cut and join you on that ledge.
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-For more poems, type
http://www.dejanews.com/
into your browser�s �Location� window. Press your �return� key.
Click on �Power Search� in the middle of the screen.
Find the box labelled �Main Archive�.
Change �Main Archive� to �Complete Archive�.
Next, do you see a blank box labelled �Power Search� ?
Type in: roller666@earthlink.net in the blank box on the screen
that has �Power Search� written next to it.
Click on �find� (the button to the right of the box).
-Or search using: roller39@idt.net
Short Cut is copyright 1998 by Steve De France