on these back road
Oklahoma long stretches
my eyes dip heavy
fingers scanning the radio
for stay awake music
talk shows anything to stir
an almost flat line mind
when a Jesus show comes through
at least I believe it’s what I hear
but in Cherokee
Amazing Grace in words
so foreign to my white bread world
but the tune rings true
with a road so long
and still how sweet it is
                        

you ride west down Main Street
mini-marts enough to satisfy
any need for Slim Jims or Red Bull
wheelchaired folks roll in and roll off
tiny chihuahuas tucked inside
Goodwill winter specials
a woman climbs on at the food bank
her arms pulled down with generic
Hamburger Helper
lima beans
and day old bread
it will never be enough
and you wonder about the nobody wants
who slip under the radar
their group home lives whose identities
lie attached to lanyards
as screaming then mewling babies
with too young mothers
wait for that chance 
to start over
but only off brand Pampers
and occasional sweet coos
then swallowed down streets 
you have never traveled