She was an LA woman.

He a tall blond Texan.

Both newly divorced.

Met in a dive bar one rainy night.

He ordered a bottle of beer.

Her favorite: frozen margaritas.

He flaunted his Dodge Ram.

She drove an old Mustang.

His eyes flashed across her natural curls.

Edged closer down the bar.

She joined group of lusty dancers

soft flesh rocking to sounds

of harmonica and guitar.

Together, they left in search of the blues.

Traffic jam, finally landed at the Outpost Tavern.

Pipe fitters sat on ripped bar stools.

Sweat oozed as they swayed to the

guitar licks of Magic Slim.

He fell hard, tussle of passion.

She planned a wedding in La Porte.

Honeymoon spent throwing back

beers, sleazy hotels.

Their bodies now moved as one.

Eventually they escaped

gripping fear of hurricanes.

Created new music, somewhere

in desert foothills of the Southwest.

Marsha Johansen lives in Albuquerque, NM and holds a Bachelors in Business Management. Her collection of poems called “Around the Edges” was published in 2018. Both her prose and poems appear in The New York Times Magazine, DailyDrunk, PoetryLovers.com,  SadGirlsClub and the New Mexico Poetry Society Chapbook.