to make the
Riverside to Fresno
turnaround,
when the woman
I lived with
would be
camping
in the wilderness,
incommunicado.
I left Riverside
at 2am.
It was a six-hour drive,
but I arrived hopped on
on adrenaline and anticipation
because my paramour and I
promised each other
abstinence
to intensify our reunion.
I don't remember much,
only hazy, coital bliss.
Predictably,
we wore ourselves out
pretending to be newlyweds.
The weight didn't hit me
until I had to get back
on the freeway
for the six-hour return
that night.
My muscles were
soft and relaxed,
my mind, tranquilized,
as I sped along
Interstate 5,
into the winding
mountainous
Grapevine,
where signs of life
and freeway lights
were scarce.
In this darkness
I relived this day,
and the gentle rumble
of the highway
quietly fed
my post-orgasmic
narcosis,
maybe
everything
would be ok...
ZZZHMP!
my muscles spasmed
and a hot surge
of fear
shot through me.
Catching my breath,
my self,
I realize I almost fell asleep
at 75 MPH
on a darkened highway
200 miles away from
where I was supposed
to be.
As soon as I could,
I pulled off and
burned my mouth on
a cup of gas station coffee-
as both a stimulant
and a punishment.
I drove the remaining miles
wide awake,
wondering how soon
it would be
before I made
my next
turnaround.
[Written for #OpenLinkNight at www.dversepoets.com - where life and love are explored lyrically!]
ha...the year before marriage i lived like 5 hours from my soon to be wife...i made a similar turnabout quite often...driving late hours for a little bit of loving...heh...and def had a few where i almost fell asleep.....
ReplyDeleteYes, but I wasn't 'sposed to be there! I was due for a different turnaround.
Deletehaha... oh my...yeah that was quite the exhaustion pack...but dang - sounds like it was worth it - oy...smiles... glad you didn't fell asleep on the steering wheel...
ReplyDeleteIn retrospect, still worth it, but very scary.
DeleteI would guess the near falling asleep was a wake-up call. Frightening state of affairs. (Pun intended!)
ReplyDeleteYou said it, kiddo.
DeleteI nodded off for a few seconds one night while driving a carload of friends home from a concert, woke up inches from the guardrail, stopped at first rest area for coffee and a cold splash of water on the face, incredibly scary, never happened again, I guess luck still counts thank god !!! So I can def relate !!
ReplyDeleteALl luck counts!
DeleteYour prose poem Adventure liaison reminded me of my decade in CA, first as actor, then as teacher, and how down there time & distance become as hazy as the smog; we all drove hours for everything, work, pleasure, entertainment. Loved your poem, and it resonated well with both the beast and poet within; you write like I think, & endeavor to write, and sometimes do.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, my friend.
DeleteSex and death. Pretty much that's poetry. Or near sex and near death. Or post death and pre sex, er, pre death and post sex. Nothing like utter terror to momentarily rouse you, eh?
ReplyDeleteI am smiling at your comments, ha ~
DeleteOh I can relate to the exhaustion and bliss afterwards ~ And yikes on getting lost, I am petrified at the thought ~
DeleteYou sure can tell a story Mosk ~
Adrenaline's a great rouser.
DeleteIt was more than a year for us. Nothing romantic about the distance, but the pull of love and let's not forget the great sex, you make it work. Enjoyed the experience and the write.
ReplyDeleteSex and the hiway can both be hypnotizing, separately and together. I've had a couple of close calls myself. :)
ReplyDeleteWell, that was an interesting turnabout..a rendezvous in the arms of love and flirting with disaster..a climatic ending to a day..kept you on the edge of your seat the rest of the way...
ReplyDeleteMy life was in need of a real turnaround, which came about a year later.
DeleteWhat a turnaround....perhaps my husband and I should plan one. :)
ReplyDeleteYou should, except for the near death nonsense.
DeleteThat is such a scary feeling!
ReplyDeleteRemember those days well (in my student days). Luckily, we didn't have a car back then, so had to rely on buses and trains and the like. Did fall asleep on trains though and ended up many stops further down the line...
ReplyDeleteWhich might be just as scary at the end of the line.
DeleteInteresting turnaround indeed. Post-orgasmic narcosis played its part I guess - and apart from the Zzzzz, a memory worth reliving.
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
Ah, yes. I'm glad I'm not there anymore.
DeleteAlmost the big sleep...all for the little death...so they say...Glad you made it, Mosk...whew!~jackie~
ReplyDeleteLots of little deaths that day - glad I made it too. :)
DeleteWhat we do for sex!
ReplyDeleteThat biological imperative is a tough nut to crack!
DeleteLove the turn around - or was it two? Very nice twist at the end. Glad the coffee was there to wake and scald you!
ReplyDeleteThat kind of driving is for a real purpose, oh, yes, Buddah! Loved the image of the two of you lolling in the tent... ha ha, tent pole images, too... yikes. The coffee as both stimulant and punishment because you burned your mouth on it, BRILL. Glad you didn't hurt yourself or anyone else.
ReplyDeleteTurnabout is foreplay?? (wink) Ameleh
Turnaround, that's what you call it. Not only the coffee is hot!
ReplyDeleteLove this, especially:
ReplyDelete"burned my mouth on
a cup of gas station coffee-
as both a stimulant
and a punishment."
:)
Thanks, ah 1999.
DeleteLiked the tension and then relaxation. It really turns on ZZZHMP! I read it as ZZZero miles per hour, or something like that.
ReplyDelete