Eastern Glow

Half an hour out of the city and
these are the prairies
where powerlines hang low
over the highway
and hay bales pimple
the countryside
where the only signs
of civilization are brown aluminum
and simply illustrated
food...lodging...restrooms
sprouting weedlike from ditches

we are three girls
and if the sky wasn't melting
all over the road
we would do like the cliches
and roll down the windows
let the wind rush at our faces
whip hair into our eyes and mouths
as if it's our last chance
because it is

I understand now
how I hung time
like a threat.....thick and heavy
over your head
until you cracked
under the compromise
and suited yourself
I understand now

and when bruised clouds bleed
blue and orange into the horizon
I imagine I am sitting still
defying Physics while the earth spins
backward beneath the tires
I imagine this is when
I'll let things slide