Some riders

we were excitable thirteen/fourteen
strung out in a thin line
middle seats in a tiny town cinema
relying on a friend in the box office
to let us underage kids see the show
Easyrider
this was nineteen sixtynine
& the world was in turmoil
& tonight was to be our turn
the lights went down
the colour came up
after that the old world was over
I became chained to bikes
Kev looked to the drugs
Andy loved the music, became a roadie
Steve turned hard against became a skinhead
Rob wanted ‘chicks’ who’d do those things
& John never understood a damn thing
whenever I see the film now
it is not hard to understand the impact
on the feckless youth we were
a complete subculture
a whole enchilada way of life
we wanted all of it
every last drop
out of this backwoods ‘burb
& into the colours
out of that crowd
that thin line
demanded more
only one escaped unscathed
there are late nights in strange cities
where
I wonder if he was the lucky one.