Try riding from Ukiah to Carmel and back
in a sports utility van with four other women.
Don’t worry that you look rumpled and silly
filing into the Quick Stop.

Don’t quibble about the accounting
for dinner last night.
Split the check five ways.
It all evens out.

I know.
It’s hard travelling with people,
and it’s hard to go it alone.

Don’t expect so much.
These women are not your sisters.
They won’t cry long at your funeral.
Pretend you understand their lives.
Let them seem familiar, familial.

Remember their penchant for abundance.

In the grand heap of luggage and shopping
bags behind the back seat
you will find tarot cards, rose cuttings,
warm socks, gorgeous globe artichokes
from a vegetable stand near Salinas,
undeveloped film, beach glass,
silences, unspoken dreams
hidden griefs, and vitamins.

Remember, the trip ends soon.


April, 1999