Saturday, June 28, 2014

The Late Night Drive

Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.
The Book of Proverbs
ISO 3200  [Flickr page]

Two old friends sitting side by side,

occupied with the hum of miles

rolling beneath them.

Separately, and together too,

they look out to the dark reaches of the road,

to the darkness of the road.

Silent thoughts intersperse with vocal ones,

the selected mind-material for sharing

edited, makes its way out to utterance.

Nods, smiles, shaking of the head,

gestures mostly sensed at the margins, unseen,

in the dim, pulsed glow of highway lights.

Conversations warm, bubble up, and burst forth.

Such a strong urge there is to agree,

to weave a cocoon of mutual understanding

around familiar contours of love and friendship.

Details fade into insignificance in the face of it.

Eyes half-lidded with warm fatigue see little

of the jarring edges of what awaits,

and can wait a while yet,

in the bracing solitary morning.