Quitting your job and Going on a road trip from Orlando to Reno

I met an orthodox quaker outside of a gay bar

He was smoking tobacco darts from Louisiana

The man asked, “Are you walking home

Or driving in your car?”

I said, “I’m on a road trip through heartland skies

On my way to Reno Nevada.”

Falling on the office floor

gas on the pavement

burnout -

at the non for profit

Well, I’m trying my best

What song is playing on the radio?

Tina Turner stuck in my head for the next 100 miles or so

Let’s pretend this is a Gus Van Sant film

My own private Reno - fantasized in my mind for awhile

Chili sauce at the restaurant

Salty chow mein before the ocean’s gone

I love these little eateries on the edge of the highway desert

Or, by the oil rig lights in the gulf

I was working at a call centre

Trying to hookup rich donors

Until my heart -

exploded

Well, this is me at my very best

Southern gothic fun

I’ll pretend to be new age at the swamp

Studying Alice Bailey and

Preaching Christian mysticism

Levitating at the old meeting house

That kinky sex in the bible belt

Free from the co-workers gossip

That’s my road movie American esoteric aesthetic

Taro Williams - Born and raised in the east end of Tkaronto/Toronto, Ontario. Taro got his start with experimental writing while attending Rosedale Heights School of Arts. In his youth, he was active in Toronto's slam poetry community. He has attended Concordia University where he got involved in the local Queer writers scene. Today, Taro can be found regularly at many open mics across the country, where his political yet zany writing has been described as "raw" and "confessional". As an expressive poet, songwriter, and writer who has traversed the vibrant landscapes of Tkaronto/Toronto, Ontario, and Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, Quebec, the work of Taro Williams is deeply rooted in the urban fabric and cultural landscapes of these cities. His writing has been previously published in School Schmool and The Auvert Magazine. He is currently working on a larger coming-of-age novel, currently split between the two cities he calls home. 

This poem is from a collection of poems that explores the themes of the ever-changing cinematographic landscape from across North America. Heavily inspired by the poetry of Emily Dickinson, it’s written from the perspective of Gen Z, and aims to capture the emotional heaviness of the post-millennial generation, the most educated, diverse, connected generation, yet, also a generation that is struggling within a cultural of mass anxieties, economic insecurities, and an unstable future.