Saturday, June 22, 2024

Gripping the gear shift December 2013

 

Okay,

I admit it,

Early on When

This all started

I used to drive

North in the dark

With her photo

On my cell phone

(the photo with

Her hat on, not

The naked ones

She sent later),

Fists gripping

The gear shift,

Stroking at each

Traffic light,

Me, cringing

Each time an SVU

Pulled beside me

And the driver

Peered down into

My car,

This ritual lasting

From start to finish,

Getting my fingers

Sticky by the time

I arrived,

That photo,

That memory

Still stirring me

All this time later,

Even though

I no long need

To wipe the wet away

When I am done,

Too much water

Under that bridge,

No longer merely

An act of innocence,

Saddled instead

With the burden

Of guilt,

That long, lonely

Ride there and back

Always in the dark.

 


email to Al Sullivan

No comments:

Post a Comment