Have a Safe Trip, Dear

In the kitchen, in a chair
Above the vent where the heat is The man sits beside her
She’s baking their daily bread
And living through each step with direction
He watches her with admiration
Unable to make sense of her magic
The magician sets the oven at 350 degrees
And lets her work do the trick
He grinds the beans for their coffee
And they move to a different space
Where they wait
Gone to a different room
In the
Riding there, riding there
I’m trying…
Waiting there, waiting there
It’s been so long, it’s been so long
The man lies down beside her
She strikes a flame to kill the absolute darkness
«calm and disjointed», she says
«exactly the way it should be»
And then it all comes down around him
Sleep is hard and the flames keep burning
Until the clock went blank
… on both sides
Smoke gets so much thicker
So much thicker that it goes unseen
At the station
Waiting there
For the front door
Waiting there
Running there
I’m station, I’m station
I’m station, I’m station