Drive
by Beau Cameron
It is raining.
Me: co-pilot
You: a lazy captain,
fingers loose
at 12 o'clock.
A song I do not know
filters through the radio
Your hair is strands of gold
Your eyes seaweed
Your lanyard, Captain America.
It is raining.
Where are we going?
Your shoulders shrug,
gaze unwavering.
Alone in the passenger seat,
I don’t know where you are.
Petroleum flows through my veins
staining irises black.
I sip gas station coffee
It is not coffee
--I gulp it down.
It is raining.
As I lean back
my spine cracks
Fingertips brushing the backseat
To reach for an empty water bottle.
I am a cactus
You were submerged in the sea
but you removed cement shoes
Drops of sun hit your cheeks
as if you’re already in Florida.
It is raining.
Who am I to keep you
Who am I to see you?
I pay for gas
so I don’t have to leave
the passenger seat
and resist turning
the wheel too sharp.
It is raining.
I folded down the page
with your name.
You look beautiful in blue
Did the mirror draw you to the ocean?
It is raining.
You hand me a granola bar
I pocket it
You frown
I unpocket it
Take a bite
Pocket it again
It is more than you expected.
It is raining.
One foot
Ten thousand miles
a country
the past
between us.
It is raining.
It is raining.
I do not
Will not
Ask you to stay
for your own sake
You try to smile
I return the favor
The road is invisible
and long
in this mapless space
It is raining--
I am pouring.
by Beau Cameron
It is raining.
Me: co-pilot
You: a lazy captain,
fingers loose
at 12 o'clock.
A song I do not know
filters through the radio
Your hair is strands of gold
Your eyes seaweed
Your lanyard, Captain America.
It is raining.
Where are we going?
Your shoulders shrug,
gaze unwavering.
Alone in the passenger seat,
I don’t know where you are.
Petroleum flows through my veins
staining irises black.
I sip gas station coffee
It is not coffee
--I gulp it down.
It is raining.
As I lean back
my spine cracks
Fingertips brushing the backseat
To reach for an empty water bottle.
I am a cactus
You were submerged in the sea
but you removed cement shoes
Drops of sun hit your cheeks
as if you’re already in Florida.
It is raining.
Who am I to keep you
Who am I to see you?
I pay for gas
so I don’t have to leave
the passenger seat
and resist turning
the wheel too sharp.
It is raining.
I folded down the page
with your name.
You look beautiful in blue
Did the mirror draw you to the ocean?
It is raining.
You hand me a granola bar
I pocket it
You frown
I unpocket it
Take a bite
Pocket it again
It is more than you expected.
It is raining.
One foot
Ten thousand miles
a country
the past
between us.
It is raining.
It is raining.
I do not
Will not
Ask you to stay
for your own sake
You try to smile
I return the favor
The road is invisible
and long
in this mapless space
It is raining--
I am pouring.