Directions to the Soul of America


Directions to the Soul of America
Song for Jack Kerouac


I am clocked at a hundred-miles-per-hour
somewhere between Lubec, Maine, Key West Florida
and Cape Alava, Washington
in the great race
to discover the soul of America
somewhere between
the rhythm strips
of the desert highway I dodge jack-rabbits
that get caught beneath the undercarriage
of a Pontiac GTO,
yes, somewhere between her thighs
and the muscular horizon
I can taste the soul of America
Searching
searching for the soul
searching for the soul of America
Searching
searching for the soul
searching for the soul of America
Somewhere in between gigs,
paintings, casino jaunts, ball games
and Turkish Café` late-night chats with Amram
I find time for Deana
who’s crying in the night,
looking for a way out
but
I tell her the only way out
is to jump right in!
So she jumps right in
and screams,
“I have discovered the soul of America!”
Searching
searching for the soul
searching for the soul of America
Searching
searching for the soul
searching for the soul of America

I hear an AHA moment from above
between the Hudson and the Ohio,
Whitman captures hummingbirds
and Whitehead sets them free,
it’s that moment when the bearded bards
look directly at the sun,
and through the retinas of their eyes they shout,
“I’ve discovered the soul of America!”
Searching
searching for the soul
searching for the soul of America
Searching
searching for the soul
searching for the soul of America

I am reading On the Road
for the third, fourth or fifth time,
puts me in the driver’s seat
tugs my heart to grab the keys,
hit the highway once again
-the story of my life-
wandering, touring, searching
searching for the soul
searching for the soul of America
for that I thank you Jack,
I thank you Jack Kerouac
Searching
searching for the soul
searching for the soul of America
Searching
searching for the soul
searching for the soul of America Copyright (c) 2007 Frank Messina

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