'are we there yet?'

on the way there,
   i'm anxious,
   i'm hungry.
on my way there for the first time,
   i'm intrigued as my mind fills in the blanks.
but on the way back
   on the way home again
      i count fewer houses
      i notice less.
   i inhale, or exhale, whichever.

and so if i work- hard, yet slow.
   the distance will remain,
   drive-time cannot diminish.
but the way will become
familiar.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

a recent road trip

my wife and i just moved from waco, texas to richmond, virginia. we drove- two vehicles, she in her car, and i in the rental moving truck. currently an excessive selection of memoirs and such from road trips offer fantastic reflections of what it's like to hit the open road in some capacity.  further, much of the music that i consider great, was likely written and refined on the road.  personally, i often find myself thinking about the interconnectedness of roads, highways, interstates, driveways and even sidewalks- not in a religious tone, but in a structural sense.  that's a huge construction.  its hard for me to imagine a larger, more expansive project... instead of a poem from the trek, id like to make a confession.  "i could be a trucker." the thickness of my beard, lacking;  my rough-neck attitude, sub-par;  my bladder, shallow.  many of my long-haul trucker archetypes do not align with the profession.  but there is something sexy about the tv show ice r
Read more

for sergeant

financial reports indicate the comanche, texas newspaper is projecting bankruptcy next year after the loss of their one and only customer.  i suspect a drop in ear plug sales across the metroplex. i am also told that parked cars, street signs, and garage doors everywhere sighed with relief when "granny" died.  i will forever wish that i had a picture of the rear end of her car that "she never hit anyone with." "when you  remember  me,  it  means  that  you  have  carried  something  of  who  i  am  with  you,  that  i  have  left  some  mark  of  who  i  am  on  who  you  are.  it  means  that  you  can  summon  me  back  to  your  mind  even  though  countless  years  and  miles  may  stand  between  us.  it  means  that  if  we  meet  again,  you  will  know  me.  it  means  that  even  after  i  die,  you  can  still  see  my  face  and  hear  my  voice  and  speak  to  me  in  your  heart.  for  as  long  as  you  remember  me,  i  am  never  en
Read more

in with under

i can't possibly know the depths of any one person at any given moment. we are given the surface, in its infinite value. how someone speaks, stands or slaps hands.  any and all of this can clue us, if we receive it. but there is more. there are moments where i am the privileged. as a chaplain- as a friend- minister- brother. i with the rare, inside lane. most difficult, for i cannot protect, though the helper in me is add. ever wanting to do anything. not because i can actually assist, but because i feel better than nothing. the honor denies my contrived duty. these are the great opportunities. not to help or fix or save.  rather, i can only marvel. at the power of another to live in with and under.
Read more