​THE TIME IT TAKES TO REACH MY CAR
 
Years ago,
it could have taken
hours.
There are spider webs,
forts,
ant hills
and dogs.
 
Weeping willow trees,
tag,
bike rides
and dirt.
 
There is the morning sun,
warm on my face...
 
These things take time...
 
But not today.
Today I leave the house and go straight to my car.
 
 
A version of this poem appeared in Afterthoughts, Vol. 5, No. 2, Issue 13, 1998.