Grape Juice

Grape Juice     7/14/2015

I saw it sitting there

On the side of the road

As I drove home from work

Under a hot afternoon sun. 

Something caught my eye

In a pile of junk

So I turned back around

Just to see what it was. 

Ignoring the painted sign

That said that it was all free

I zeroed in on a wine press

Rusting in the grass.

Without hesitation

I popped it, in my trunk

And headed home to my house

To examine what I found.

I scrubbed off the rust

And oiled everything down

Peeling back the decades

To a world long past by.

Once my father made wine

But the bottles exploded in the attic

A long time ago

And far away from here. 

When I was finished

I looked at the wine press

And gently turned the screw

Just as smooth now

As it probably was then.

We have forgotten

And we have lost our way

Leaving behind many

To die

Or waste away.

We had every warning

And we had every chance

As we turn the screw over

Wasted dumb and dead.

Evil thrives

And multiplies

But nothing lasts forever

Unanswered

Or unpunished.

The field is ripe

Now watch it all turn

Just like we should have known

Many years ago.