Down the river Styx I sailed in a
dilapidated dinghy. I looked over
my shoulder and paid notice to the
storm clouds gathering in the west.
I arrived in port at dusk; the sky
was blood red. The wind disturbed
my thoughts as I unloaded the cargo.
She picked me up in her sixty-nine
Firebird. We rode into the sunset
with the radio on an oldies station.
When the snow started falling she
exited the highway. We ate pork chops
at the truck stop and fell asleep in
the car. The rumbling of the moving
vans loaded with lost souls woke us
up before the rooster began crowing.
By the middle of the day, when the
sun was at its peak in the bronze sky,
it was over two hundred degrees in
the shade. The radiator boiled over;
we were left stranded by the side
of the road. I reached for her but
she disappeared, a mirage in the
shimmering heat. Alone, I crawled
through the desert, looking for an
oasis where I could rest my tired
bones. My mind was delirious and my
longing for companionship was vast.
Up a skyscraper sand dune I stumbled,
calloused feet bleeding and oozing.
A buzzard with the head of a sea turtle
picked me up and carried me to the ocean.
On the shoreline I laid down and let
the surf swirl over my body. It carried
me off towards the edge of the universe,
where I stood on a rooftop and looked
down upon all creation. I saw myself
being born and witnessed my death in
the blink of an eye. Time came to a
sudden halt and my heart began beating.
Submission Name: Dilapidated Dinghy
