IT WAS ALWAYS LATE WHEN

               WE LEFT FOR HOME

                          Will de Kypia

Outside, nothing except our headlights

and the lights of one other car, also lost

-Mommy, are we lost?

-No, dear, we're not lost.

          They weren't really friends, they were

              neighbors who hardly had the time to...

Inside, two cigarettes glow while

the radio plays a soft jazz station

-What a big house! Are they rich now?

-They're richer than some people are.

          Such pretentious phonies!

              Hiring a caterer, acting like

                  they were born with a silver...

Parents in the front

Children in the back

-Did Daddy get a ticket for an airplane?

-No, your late-for-work dad got a speeding—

          Why the hell did you bring that up?

              It's none of anyone else's goddamn

                 business if a stupid dumbass copper...

The low hills of a landfill are lit up by

the flares of their own putrefraction

-Look at all the pretty blue lights.

-That's just fart gas burning off.

          I forgot to turn off the oven

              after I took out the pie which

                 Carolyn decided not to serve...

Broken dog lying against the curb

Not stirring despite the rising wind

-Can we watch TV when we get home?

-No, you kids will be by asleep by then.

          The bank sent another reminder that we

              only have until the end of the month to...

Junkwood haze rises in a vacant city lot

Vagrants' eyes limply stare as we hurry by

-Those people made a fire in a garbage can.

-Tonight will be very cold. They'll want a fire.

          The kids need new shoes before the

              school year starts but unless we win...

Traffic lights we pause at

Stop signs we slink past

-Why would anybody live around here?

-Because this is where their home is.

          Are you sure you're OK to drive?

              It might be better if you let me...

Driving down empty streets

Dark, dirty, and dangerous

-How much longer till we're home?

-Soon, sweetie, we'll be home soon.

          If you don't make the kids shut up

              back there I am going to stop this

                  car right smack dab in the middle...

An abandoned building with

its roof half-collapsed and

every window shattered

-Children, be quiet so Daddy can drive.

-We will be quiet, Mommy. We promise.

          Doctor Alexander himself called me

              to say your blood test was positive...

The road twists, sharply

Tires skid, dangerously

          For God's sake slow down,

              it's not the end of the world,

                  you overreact to everything.

A metallic slagheap stench assaults us

Our throats gag, our hearts skip a beat

          Are the windows all the way up?

              Can't you go any faster than this?

We're not alone on this empty highway

          Be careful, the guy behind us is

              speeding up, I bet he's going to...

Two angry horns blare at each other as

a pair of red taillights zips ahead of us

          I said you ought to let me drive.

              Do we need to stop to get gas?

                  Does your family matter to you?

Suddenly we're caught in a blizzard

swirling like a snow globe shaken

and the flakes refuse to settle

           Too cold

                Too dark

                     The wind

                          Too late

We wait in vain for our town to appear

No bungalows, rows of shops, butcher and baker

No schools, no library, no church with a steeple

Not even one streetlight to brighten the night

The home we're searching for is not here

          Maybe you forgot it at the office again. You

            should ask her where you put it this time.

-Mommy, are we lost now?

-Yes, my darling, we are lost.

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