NaPoWriMo 2017 - Day 15

Cycling RV Tanks #

Waiting Waiting
.
..
…
It’s dark out
dark is good
driving in the dark
is so much more calming
than driving in the light
because no one is on the road

little gas in the tank
can I make it?
maybe but being wrong
would be bad practice
at 1 AM

There is a gas station
down this road
right?
nope
there is not
there is a gas station
though a windy
rubric’s cube
of one way roads
through San Francisco’s hills
But gas now

Off to the express way
highway
southwards
it’s dark
fog rolls in
slow down
eyes look out
towards a road sluggishly
putting on an
invisibility cloak

the freeway ends
turns into highway
ways away
stoplight traffic
gas stations I would have never made it to
begin to dot
anonymous hills

Nameless
Sameless
Californian landscapes
passing the Taco Bell at the End of the World
fancy paneling
weathered, beaten American beacon
in light there would be
young people along the sandy beach
surfing talking sunbathing
cliff that looks into the ocean
Authentic Triple Double Stacked
Diet Supreme Deluxe Crunch Wrap
with Cheese
truly ambiguous parking situation

laborious climb up
headlights waking up
green trees for
their midnight snack
apologetically looping
limbs waving
in tree language shapes

tunnel tunnel tunnel
someone blew a hole in a mountain
so they could string lights through
remember to turn on headlights
even in daytime
slight cloistered claustrophobia
until the sky opens up again

Up and down more mountains
surprise difficult traffic lights
Silly red obstructive circles
Forget everything that comes for a while
because it’s flat and unseeable in the nighttime
have to pull over and grab my phone
cleverly hidden somewhere
to make sure I haven’t passed my destination

Wait
what the fuck
the sky is orange
why is the sky orange
midnight was long ago
that’s not the sun
the sun is somewhere else now
the sky is orange
who allowed this
is something burning
it does not smell like something burning
why is the sky orange
the sky is is orange for miles

It seems that the sky is orange
because of a massive human
built
place
that is very orange
broadcasting orange to the sky
why would it need to be that bright
metal fences that look somewhat serious
what is this place
why do we need a sky orangeness factory
that seems expensive

Doing everything
I forget
is hard in the dark
but I manage and it takes forever
weird mud on my shoes
which key is the key that opens the water thing on the side
this one?
that one?
I drop a hose in the dirt
the grit stays on my hands until I can wash it

on the way back
there is a lighthouse in the middle of the field
whir whir whir
goes its circles of light
speaking to planes
steep inclines somewhere
up up up
it’s three now
how did it take so long?
Where does all the time go

Making it back to the city
primarily by waiting for time to pass
driving in silence is not difficult
just takes time
the sky is no longer orange
which is in and of itself
a promising sign