i nudged my head
into the woodgrain
linoleum
peeled back from thirty years
of wear
music from similar days
crackled through
the tortured speaker
overhead
everyone busied
themselves
separately though we moved through
time in this northbound lane
together
each toting our absolute
necessities
for them
a drum kit and a guitar or two
for me
my camera and this notepad
to our left a sea of gloom
a shade of grey
smeared
from the sky to the water
the winds were calm
as the palms stood still
hardly a sway to the grass
but as the creaking van
hugged the curves of the coast
enough breeze snuck through
the aged screen
for a squint of my tired eyes
the engine moaned
as we climbed the hills
toward the setting sun
clouds finally broke
just before the day was to be done
with the radio off
all there was to hear
was the balding tires
on the
road
the rattling of cabinet hinges
time apart from the steering wheel
my eyes able to soak in
every inch of the drive
it was to be a good night
