He is heading out
for open road,
his big rig humming.
Thanksgiving morning.
The day is crisp and clear.
He will eat his holiday dinner
at some truck stop,
where his banter with the waitress--
a kindred spirit--
will be about keeping the world running
while the rest of 'em
spend the day gettin' fat and happy.
In a while,
he will put in a call to Janie and the kids.
They'll be over at mom's today.
In their pre-meal prayer,
they will say his name.
And yes, he is thankful.
Hell...lucky to have a job at all
the way things are going.
The road snakes on to somewhere
anywhere
nowhere.
And the holiday travelers
blow past him,
just another obstacle
in the way
on the way
to their overindulgence.
He remembers how,
in the beginning,
he thought this would be
a romantic kind of life.
But as he looks out now,
across the endless expanse,
he is struck by the thought
that it's kinda like
gazing at the moon
in daylight.
Absolutely LOVE your closing lines in this piece. I KNOW what that feels like. I too have thought life would the road would be ideal...but I think we do tend to covet what we don't understand. The thought of being at the table for holiday feasts in prayers and spirit only is enough to convince me I'd never make it through such an existence. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family, food, and fun!
ReplyDeletei feel him...i used to travel all the time and missed much of life when i did ...it was romantic for a bit getting to see the world but doing it alone is no where near as fun...
ReplyDeleteyou captured that loneliness so well tim...though i have to admit it always seems there is a certain romantic on a life like this..gazing at the moon in daylight..underlines it perfectly..the feeling of being kept away from life
ReplyDeleteGreat capture of romance gone sour:
ReplyDelete"it's kinda like
gazing at the moon
in daylight"
Nice capture of a human experience most of us have contemplated.
ReplyDeletethis reminds me of my husbands grandpa... he drove all his life. I always wanted to try it!
ReplyDeleteKellie
http://magicinthebackyard.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/hard-cider/
I too felt that I was drawn into the romantic view of the job and liked how the narrator reminds us at the end that it's not. And yet, the moon in daylight is an interesting sight, unexpected and special...just not at all shiny.
ReplyDeleteGreat work--this piece feels lonely to me--beautifully written--and I love your last stanza
ReplyDeleteI love this poem! I feel the sense of loneliness and isolation, like the rest of the world exists in a separate space. I love the last lines, the romanticized notion of the life we thought we were going to have and the reality of life.
ReplyDeleteI have seen those big truckers and trailers...indeed it a hard and long job. Great capture of the reality of work..."road snakes" got my attention ~
ReplyDelete"He remembers how,
ReplyDeletein the beginning,
he thought this would be
a romantic kind of life."
A reflection many have, in many different points of life I do believe...a very lonely poem, and an experience well-penned.
Very reflective. Yes, thankful for a job in this economy for sure, but always away from family. I love your choice of metaphor in the last stanza comparing to "gazing at the moon in daylight."
ReplyDeleteA subtle way to remind us to be grateful and say Thank You to those who will work on Thanksgiving. Very thought provoking, thanks for sharing this.
Great capture...he is struck by the thought
ReplyDeletethat it's kinda like
gazing at the moon
in daylight !
Wow, this one is deeply felt, Timoteo. I can see that trucker, hear his hearty laugh - and I LOVE "it's kinda like gazing at the moon in daylight". A soulful write.
ReplyDeleteGazing at the moon in day light.. what a wonderful imagery... could relate to this so much...
ReplyDeleteShashi
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/11/whispers-sighs.html
At Twitter @VerseEveryDay
this is great for all that it suggests - the closing lines are fantastic and my pa is a trucker - so i pretty much tuned in to all; i'm honking (in many ways lol)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warm wishes, NATASHA!
ReplyDeleteBRIAN, CLAUDIA, SHAWNA, CRYSTAL: I too once contemplated this type of life, but you'll never be healthy eating truck stop food!
MAGIC, KATHY, DIVALOUNGER, SEEK THE SUN: We've all looked up to see the moon in daylight at times, and it loses its luster, doesn't it?
Thanks for coming, HEAVEN!
Good to see you here, CHRIS G.
GINNY: Being in radio, I worked every major holiday for most of my life, because the show must go on. So I can identify with those road warriors out there!
SHERRY...SHERRY BAYBEE...SHE-ER-EEEE...
Thanks so much, AYALA AND SHASHI.
ARRON:Thanks for the honk. How about a bumper sticker: HONK IF YOU LOVE POETRY!
I love trucker poems! Nice on T.
ReplyDeleteI really love the last two lines..."gazing at the moon in daylight"...I'll be at work tomorrow too, but I'm thankful that I love my job and those I get to work with. It'll almost be like spending it with family, almost :) Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteAh, nice one...what a way to spend Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful piece. I like the simplicity of it and the deftness in capturing this man's feelings and so much more, the economy and what this man must do to take care of his family, what it costs him and them. I'm struck by how much you conveyed with what seems like ease.
ReplyDeleteHis Name WOW, I had the wrong bblog...stuck on a really old one...hadn't refreshed it, my apologies
ReplyDelete