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night driving, ’89

Danielle McMahon

__________

we drive south
in a silver and rust
toyota pick-up
to meet
                 the blue-brown tide
                 & fizzling foam
of the atlantic, our
pale yellow headlights
scrape miles
through the summer’s night

the engine drones on
an otherwise empty
highway, through flat-lands
                 of rows
                 of dark pine and tobacco

windows down,
stray hairs whip
frantic at my face,
                 freckled
with tingling stars

a white moon trails us
like a lost balloon
& I am
                 swimming
in and out of dreams,
breathing in deep like
salted ocean
                 sighs

the radio plays
A Whiter Shade of Pale
in endless loop

the music swells
golden, haunted

my father’s voice,
warm hushed woodwind,
knows the words

silver starlight
pierces through
the bottomless black
sea of sky, casting distant
pine & tobacco fields
                 in mercury
                 in memory

sprays of salt-
water & sweet pine
                 linger
on the cooled August breeze

eyes closed, I breathe
                 in deep
                 the music swells

the voice of my father
melts easy in my dreams:

                 we’re almost there

__________

Danielle McMahon is the author of “Cold rain” in Pittsburgh (Bottlecap Press, 2024), “The Oracle’s Voicemail” (Alien Buddha Press, 2024), “The TV Guide” (Alien Buddha Press, 2024) and a micro-chap titled insecure lovesong (Maverick Duck Press, 2024).

__________

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