report 000018: interstate eighty

another form of communication: in the cold clear of rain this evening one recalls, fleetingly, that first instance of intoxication. one limbers for the sake of it. the shift from speed to velocity: i've got a map. i'll be there by morning. wait

for me until the sun slicing in dances your coffee's silt. i'll bring the whiskey & a protractor, the latter to be discarded after the first lesson, when our hands have found their way. downshift before accelerating the curve; traction; i spent all evening in storm drains & puddles, cleaning my boots as i went. they only forget

slowly. the rainy season's just begun. once the oil clears off the highway & that first slew of accidents come& gone, receding into ambulances, the scrap-heap, the telephone pole intact by a miracle--one signs the release slip on a season. one packs a bag & holds one's breath.