Conversation at the Gates of Hell

Jeffrey L. Taylor

October 19, 2020

“You can stand me up at the Gates of Hell, but I won’t back down.”

— Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 

I merrily sing this song, taking

a principled stand for what’s right.

Later I realize those I oppose

also sing this song merrily.

We all know how this plays out,

wounded gridlock, unstoppable force

meets immovable object, people

broken and ground between.

Here we both stand at the Gates of Hell,

pretending we’re not close.

There’s no coffee shop

or coffee house for miles,

though I smell something roasting.

Clearly the A/C’s not broken.

Can we bend an ear to each other?

Tell of our fears instead

of our positions?  Sit with the Other’s

wounded heart in our hands?

Jeffrey L. Taylor's first submitted poems won Riff Magazine's Jazz and Blues Poetry Contest.  He has been published in di-vêrsé-city, The Perch, Red River Review, Texas Poetry Calendar, and Langdon Review.  Serving as sensei (instructor) to small children and professor to graduate students has taught him humility.