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, just
neighbors who hardly deigned...
Inside, two cigarettes glow while
the radio plays cool jazz tracks
-What a big house! Are they rich now?
-They're richer than some people are.
What pretentious phonies!
Hiring a caterer, acting as if
they were born with a silver...
Parents in the front
Children in the back
-Did Daddy get a ticket to ride on an airplane?
-No, Daddy got his ticket for something else.
Why the hell did you bring that up?
It is none of anybody's goddamn
business if some dumbass cop...
A landfill's low hills are lit by
the flares of its putrefraction
-Those blue lights are pretty.
-They are lovely nightlights.
Guess what! Silly me didn't turn off
the oven after I took out the cake
which Carol chose 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 sound asleep then.
The bank sent a notice to remind us we
only have till the first of next month to...
Junkwood haze rises in a vacant city lot
Vagrants' eyes limply stare as we hurry by
-Some people made a fire in a garbage can.
-Tonight will be very cold. They'll want a fire.
We need to buy new shoes for the kids
before the school year starts but since...
Traffic lights we pause at
Stop signs we slide past
-Why would anyone live here?
-This is where their home is.
Are you sure you're OK to drive?
I think it might be better if you let...
Driving down empty streets
Dark, dirty, and dangerous
-How much longer until we get home?
-Not long, 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 factory with
its roof half-collapsed and
every window shattered
-Children, be quiet so Daddy can drive.
-We promise we will be quiet, Mommy.
Doctor Alexander called me himself
and said your blood test was positive...
A metallic slagheap stench assaults us
Our throats gag, our hearts skip a beat
Everyone hold their breath! Are all
the windows rolled up all the way?
Can't you go any faster than this?
The road twists, sharply
Tires skid, dangerously
For God's sake slow down,
you're overreacting as usual,
it's not the end of the world...
The car reeks of tobacco smoke
Door handles are meat hooks
The trunk a capacious coffin
Be careful, the guy behind
us looks like he's going to...
Two angry horns blare at each other
A pair of red taillights zips around us
Are you finally ready to let me drive?
Do we have enough gas to get home?
Why can't you think about your family?
Suddenly we're caught in a blizzard swirling like a
snow globe shaken and the flakes refuse to settle
Too dark
Too cold
The wind
Too late
Our little town does not appear
No bungalows, row of shops, butcher and baker
No schools or 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.
It was always late when we left for our home
A treaure we'd lost and would never recover
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