damn
gravel in my shoe again
toe’s sticking through the hole in my sock
i kneel
adjust my worn-out footwear
stare at the patterns in the cracked pavement
how many miles
to my destination
somewhere beyond this highway sign?
sign says, “Slower traffic, keep right”
i’m on the shoulder
can’t get much slower
well, that’s not entirely true
before leaving home
i was going nowhere
before going nowhere
i had dreams
red car, yellow car, black car, white car
color don’t mean that much to me
i ride in ‘em all without reserve
got to conserve my energy, though
haven’t eaten in two days
don’t know which is louder
the rumble in my stomach
or the sound of trucks
rambling down the road
cars blur by
and into the sunset
one more hour
and i’ll call it a day
one more hour with my thumb out
i’ve got nothing else to do
but, hope is on my side
and one thing’s for certain
a ride always comes along
truck drivers, motorcycle riders
delivery men, and policemen
moonshiners, fanatics, drunks, and drug addicts
vacationers, hippies, and families with children
gamblers, preachers, horny men and women
a menagerie of virtue and vice
all with one thing in common
they stopped on the side of the road
and let me in
each taking me someplace i’d never been
some with ulterior motives
some with a sense of adventure
some needing someone to talk to
some fed me
some fucked me
some tried to rob me
some even blessed me
i’ve stood by the road in torrential rain
endured thunder, lightning, and relentless hail
trekked through blizzards in the mountains
melted in the desert’s merciless sun
bathed nude in ice cold rivers
slept under the stars by the overpass
I’ve been to every state in the Union
mostly on the back of my thumb
it was a great way to get there
when i didn’t care where there was and
didn’t need to get there
in some kind of a rush
i stepped out of nowhere’s door
many years ago
picked up an education
my companion for a lifetime
and, here now i stand
at home by the side of this highway
certain as certain can be
that soon again i’ll be
exactly where i’ve never been.
