The Sand Hill Review               http://www.sandhillreview.org 2008

Driving to Work Alongside Strangers

At five a.m. we have the freeway

to ourselves. We drive

without brakelights, never

change lanes. There’s a small gravity

between our cars. One drags another

though we try to ignore the pull.

The radio has news of delays.

A stall on the Altamont Pass,

van in the center divide.

Crash on 880, big rig versus

two sedans. We hear the back-up,

the drive times, not the colors of cars.

The sky is gray. Billboards

glow brighter than moonlight

and we forget the cold road

we’ve just passed. Every morning

next to each other.

Every morning, our windows hazed.

Amy MacLennan