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POEM: Pushed, Pulled & Prayed

Pushed, Pulled & Prayed
for Tina and Kelley

I drove the reluctant old truck
to the outskirts of town,
where my friends’ house is hidden

down a long gravel driveway.
Maybe that’s the only sane place
to put a house these days.

We passed a small dog around
so she could take turns sleeping
in each of our laps

while we told stories and ate
pumpkin pie with Cool Whip
and drank perfect sweet tea.

“It’s a fucked-up old world
and no denying it.” I think
Gandhi said that.

But then you find yourself
at the end of a gravel driveway
on the near edge of Alabama,

warmly embraced by people
who were strangers just a few
months back, and you think

maybe there’s still a chance
that this story will come out
all right in the end.

That’s why I’m not worried
that the truck wouldn’t start
after dinner, no matter how much

we pushed and pulled and prayed.
I’m sure it’ll start tomorrow.
And anyway, I like walking.

22 November 2012
Auburn, AL

Published in Auburn My poems Poetry

3 Comments

  1. Diva Diva

    Yup.

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