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									 The road into small town  
America's Midwest takes  
dead aim on the courthouse,  
its dome or steeple the most  
prominent landscape beacon,  
visible miles away.  
 
The seat of justice is  
the town's beating heart,  
its center, focus of its plaza.  
 
Sometimes the highway  
hones to the town's core,  
then arcs around  
the courthouse  
as if it were  
the Eiffel Tower.  
The courthouse is  
America's Gothic cathedral,  
its Medieval castle. 
 
 
© by Glen Sorestad. 
Used with the author's permission. 
  
 
 
 
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Glen Sorestad is a Canadian poet, fiction writer, editor, publisher, anthologist, and public speaker. Author of more than 25 books of poetry and numerous short stories, his work has appeared in more than 70 anthologies and textbooks and his book, Selected Poems from Dancing Birches, was published in Italy in a bilingual edition. Glen has been appointed to The Order of Canada, that country's highest non-military honor, served as Saskatchewan's first Poet Laureate from 2000 - 2004, and has given public readings of his poetry in every province of Canada, as well as in many U.S. states and many parts of Europe. Glen lives in Saskatoon with his wife, Sonia, who he claims is his "first and most enthusiastic reader and editor." Learn more about Glen here. 
                                      
  
  
						 
						
																	
							
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												Jancan: 
												Lovely tribute to courthouses--good
metaphor and simile.  Jancan 
												Posted 02/18/2019 12:02 PM
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												wordartdjc: 
												Very astute. I do agree. Men of that era felt monuments were needed to inspire. 
												Posted 02/18/2019 10:14 AM
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												Glen Sorestad: 
												Safe travels, Larry. And to all of you intrepid winter travelers. 
												Posted 02/18/2019 08:52 AM
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												Larry Schug: 
												About to embark on a journey from Minnesota to New Mexico on the "blue highways", not the interstates, I'll be driving through this poem.  Greetings, Glen. 
												Posted 02/18/2019 07:09 AM
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