i stayed up
all night with sylvia
listening to
cars racing
up and down 35
as she waxed on
about silvery light

at some point
listening to the hotel’s
ambient noises
i woke up hank
and he told me
about betting on
the trifecta to win

a roomful of prose
bouncing off the walls
as i lay whispering
unfinished odes while
waiting for sunrise
over a new town
in a westerly facing room

five hours from home
only certain of the
billowing uncertainty
unsure of my bearings
landlocked yet drowning
of heartfelt declarations
lost in the bramble of night