Driving In the Dark On My Birthday-Oct 7

Thirty minutes til pickup - leaving home before crack of dawn A slew of police cars and orange cones blocking the exit Reading mailboxes with old eyes - not owl eyes My friend and I exchanging gift bags - her birthday was in August Thirty more minutes North - I should have let her drive A sharp curve - caught off guard - followed it to its conclusion A deer in a dead slump near the road’s edge Motorcyclists - one popping a wheelie Country bumpkin roads Field of future Jack-O’-lanterns The church steeple as the sun comes up