High Plains Sushi
This bar’s insured by Smith and Wesson
Says the sign upon the wall
Vern studies his empty beer glass
Time slows down to a crawl
Audrey, the lank-haired waitress
Watches from the bar
Order something soon, she yells
Or get the hell out of here.
There’s a special on at Wanda’s Ranch
Tuesday night 2 for one
But Vern doesn’t have the appetite
He doesn’t have the wherewithal
There’s only one thing that he wants
And he’s going to get it soon
High Plains Sushi
High Plains Sushi
Hot Sake in a cup
Five thousand feet above the ocean
And he just can’t get enough
Two guys from the goldmine
Old Arsenic and Rock Face
Have journeyed up from the centre of the Earth
To join the human race
But no matter how hard they try
No matter what they do
In the glow from the pool table
They’ve still got that subterranean hue.
Something’s warming beneath a heat lamp
Looks like deep fried road kill
Beside a tub of mashed potatoes
It’s making Vern feel ill
There’s only one thing that he wants
And he’s going to get it soon
High Plains Sushi
High Plains Sushi
Hot Sake in a cup
Five thousand feet above the ocean
And he just can’t get enough.
I spent a little time once in Elko, Nevada. There was a sushi restaurant in the town which served individual portions large enough to feed a small Japanese village. Elko hosts an annual Cowboy Poetry Festival. Interesting place. This poem started as a song lyric and then became a poem with a chorus which I believe is called a “duranga”.
Stopdraggingthepanda 
Enjoyed this a lot!
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Thanks Ingrid!
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Wonderful! My first taste of Sushi was in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mountains of them!
In fact, I think I should write a poem about that business trip…in fact it could be a song…..
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Yes The US is the land of plenty….or too much!
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Jim, were you there for the cowboy poetry festival? That sounds mighty interesting. Cowboys and sushi, who would have known. I love your poem. Speaking of sushi, I’ve started making my own and it tastes damfine!
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I was there for a project, but yes it’s an interesting town. It’s up on a high plain, the scenery is high desert. They have a Basque festival every year as well as the Cowboy Poetry festival!
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this works; why? the rhyming scheme, the character sketches, atmosphere 🙂
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Thank you John!
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You have a great sense of place. Now I’m going to be craving sushi…no high plains around here though. (K)
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Thanks K!
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So if I had my first sushi in Durango, does that make me a poet?
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I’m not sure if it makes you a poet( you’re already one!) but it certainly makes you brave!
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