We slept by the highway in West Virginia.
I don’t remember how we made it that far.
By morning the gullies of the sleeping bag were filled with snow.
In the few houses strewn beneath the overpass,
we could smell cornbread frying and hear dogs.
Because his parents were wealthy, he was supposed to bring money.
He unrolled a candy bar and a quarter,
his broad shoulders shaking as he wept.
We turned back, a long way from New Jersey.
I knew someone in the splatter of houses would take us in,
and I would have my hand on him
to show he was meek, and slowly nod
to show I was wise.
Road Trip by Samn Stockwell | Garden Lavender Poetry Reed Diffuser Set
Samn Stockwell has published extensively. Her newest book Musical Figures is published by Thirty West Publishing House. Previous books won the National Poetry Series and the Editor’s Prize at Elixir. Recent poems are in Pleiades, Washington Square, and others.
