carretera

carretera

            6-22-06

on the tired roadside

old school bus leads us

to the heat cracked streets of Patulul

hazy sun rises over sugarcane

gears shift to the static of Reggaeton

the sleepy humid mist among us

choked by lingering exhaust

sombrero man flosses his silver-lined teeth with a rubberband

the scent of shampoo and breakfast fires

dodging bony wayside dogs

bucket of milk spilling from burning breaks

we pass impatiently around blind corners

yet the decal assures me that "Dios es nuestra guia"

and so my soul rests easily among the fields of manure

we all stare forward on the carretera

to where it is we go

to the place that we Are.