Pennsylvania Pilgrimage | Kyle Hilsey

Trapped, lost in snow-covered northern lights,

Wishing to stumble on dirt hollers.

Misplaced on this dreadful map.

I yearn to be quenched by the southern chalice blessed by Mason.

Northern bounds restrict momentum,

Only hearing cries of far-off hymns.

Promise land kissed by sun and baptized in rolling thunder.

Rather dying free in red clay,

Then alive in suffocating snowy shackles.

Dixon draws his line guarding entrance,

Refusing passage.

Born higher than I prayed,

But shall fight to live in Eden of fly over states.

Tasting sweet tea of paradise,

Feasting on smoke covered Eucharist anointed by Corky’s.

I may slip on the ice now but it will melt from the southern sun,

Because I'm just a hayseed trapped in snow.

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Kyle Hilsey is a poet and playwright from Delaware County, PA. With his previous works appearing in New Reader Magazine, Two Sentence Horror Stories, Digital Dealer Conference, and The Tri-State Theatre Festival. He hides his love of poetry and prose behind skull tattoos and pinups, and appreciates the written word for masking his "delco" accent. He is currently in the works of completing his first chapbook, “Written Jukebox”.