Before the waters fill the bridge’s mouth
Before the metal cathedral liquefies
Before the bolts explode like broken elbows
Before the wind sinks into the sizzling sea
Before the sun looks us straight in the eye
And says “I told you so”
Before my purse fills up with junk
And I can’t find my keys
And the fish can’t find their gills
And the ghosts have no place left to haunt
And the rest stops are flooded with soggy French fries
And all the used water bottles will never be empty again
As the dead owl by the side of highway stares up at the darkening sky
One wing raised straight into the air
Guts wide open like a slow yawn
As I hold my toes on the gas pedal
On the Palisades Parkway and I turn to a gas station on the New Jersey Turnpike
And I hold my notebook in my hand
I think if I can keep one poem going long enough
I can slow the end of the world like a leashed beast
But the afternoon is tilting
And the cars are speeding in both directions
And I’ll soon be late for dinner
And before we lose all the time we were given
I hop in the car and rush home to you
My only love, waiting in the quietest room of the house
with your warm hands in your lap.