Ruskin and the Evil of Bicycles by Jack B. Bedell

He always felt the only wealth

this world offered hid

in the details of our days.

He’d sit for hours staring

at water on a rock, cataloging

its varieties of wetness,

or wake each morning to watch

sunrise just so he could memorize

all the colors light made

bending over the horizon.

If he could, he’d slow his walks

in the countryside to match

the pace of grass growing

toward the sky. He despised

the hustle of bicycles,

their wheels gliding over

all these wonders like so many

gold coins strewn along the road.

---

Jack B. Bedell is Professor of English at Southeastern Louisiana University where he also edits Louisiana Literature and directs the Louisiana Literature Press. His most recent collection is Color All Maps New (Mercer University Press, 2021). He served as Louisiana Poet Laureate 2017-2019. Twitter: @jackbedell Instagram: @jackbbedell