dark road at 2 am
speeding, streetlights flashing by
shadows play and music dances
from the radio, mingling
with my thoughts
"What it's Like"
"Kryptonite"
commercials, change the station
books in the back seat
and only darkness up ahead
optional stop sign
60 in a 35
music plays and I don't listen
the road is all the same
30 yards in front of me
then blackness, save for streetlights
then there are none
and the road is much darker
so on it I see ghosts dancing
ghosts in the headlights
dancing to the music
on the radio
up ahead is a train
woman in the car in front of me
her head is too long
doesn't look human
maybe she isn't
weeds off the road to both left and right
lit up by headlights flashing
through the spaces between rail cars
making wicked shadows
and illuminating my fears
I lock my doors
and then notice
how beautiful the train is
black against a dark blue sky
light on the far side shining
flickering through empty boxcars
it speeds up and begins to depart
and abruptly all is still
and I'm alone again
on a dark road at 3 am
the radio is dying
as I drive away
and th...erg in...fits...yarg...nor...its...net...mar
and then I'm home
and take my books inside and drink myself asleep
though the beer tastes more bitter
than when I was in New York City

09/23/2001

Posted on 09/23/2001
Copyright © 2025 Gary Hoffmann