On a Greyhound Bus

I met her in the Greyhound station
On a rainy New England day
From different sides of desperation
We were both trying to run away

I needed to make a fresh, new start
Where my troubled past was still unknown
She was dying from a failing heart
And from her hospital bed she had flown

"I am only nineteen, but won't see twenty
And don't want to die in a hospital bed
The things I haven't done are equal to plenty
And I'd like to live just a little instead"

We talked
We slept
Not a secret was kept
We laughed
We cried
There was nothing to hide

Through cities
Through towns
With corn fields all around
Over rivers
Over hills
Past landscapes with no thrills

She said she had never made love with a man
But knew that her heart couldn't take it
I told her we've made love while crossing this land
You don't have to have sex to make it

Before we finally reached the west coast
She smiled and told me good-bye
She said, "This trip, I'll remember the most"
And sometime that night she died

I got off the bus in the middle of nowhere
As they came to take her body away
I took with me a lock of her hair
And still have it with me today
Copyright © | Year Posted 2012

Poem

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Dietrich Avatar
February 23, 2012 at 10:03 PM
joe,although I imagine this is fiction that you created, I REALLY like it . It's one of my favorites I've read tonight on this winners' list. Congrats.
Sweetheart Avatar
February 23, 2012 at 9:43 AM
congrats Joe on an excellent win for deeply creative words luv..
Brown Avatar
February 23, 2012 at 6:30 AM
Congratulations on your win in P.D.'s "(Any) Poem Of the week" contest Joe. Love, Carol
Bauer Avatar
February 23, 2012 at 5:00 AM
i really enjoyed this poem, especially the quick moving middle verses. the change in tempo really added something wonderful that i wouldn't have expected it to. great story, well-told!
Pettit Avatar
February 22, 2012 at 10:43 PM
Congratulations on your win Joe. This was a sad story that reminded me a bit of the movie "Midnight Cowboy".
A   Avatar
February 22, 2012 at 10:36 PM
JOE.. CONGRATUALTIONS! with your poem of the week... thank you for supporting my contest ;-) ~ always*PD
Macfarlane Avatar
February 21, 2012 at 2:19 PM
Wow Joe....what an great story and amazing write.
Collins Avatar
February 20, 2012 at 8:28 AM
Dear Joe - This gave me goosebumps. I could see the landscape flitting by and the bounce of the bus. "I told her we've made love while crossing this land You don't have to have sex to make it." Those lines are lovely. love, Kathy
Johnson-Saunders Avatar
February 18, 2012 at 10:59 PM
An amazing write. I enjoyed reading it. The only time I rode on a greyhound, I was 16, petrified, and sitting next to a burly guy with terrible b.o. Memorable, yes, but not in the same way. Blessings, Rhonda
Kendrick Avatar
February 18, 2012 at 4:37 PM
Emotive story told..Is this a true story or one that you wrote for us here at soup?..I am glad that I stopped by to read this one..Sara
Merryman Avatar
February 18, 2012 at 1:33 PM
A very sad story, Joe. well written. Love, Kim
Novotny Avatar
February 18, 2012 at 12:31 PM
An amazing poem and story. Thanks for a thought provoking read. - Chuck
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