Slow Morning

By Niall Twohig

Dear Aislynn,

I drove to campus without music today,

just to be present and to observe.

The loneliness of the drive

became more apparent –

Isolated in my vehicle

moving away from you,

moving away from your mama,

moving away from home,

moving next to people

but never seeing their faces.

How different we are

from the pelicans off Sunset Cliffs,

who move in unison, who ride the wind current of waves.

We, on our atomized roadways and highways,

Every one moving apart, everyone riding in their own world.

Music or podcasts screen me from this loneliness

but even when it’s screened,

it’s still there.

My only face-to-face contact

was with the poor man begging

at the entrance of the I-5.

Today I decided to see him,

to give him some change.

The exchange made me laugh

when I caught a glimpse of his two-sided sign

One side read:

If you have some cheese

spread it on this ass cracker!

I was taken aback by that,

till I saw the other side

which simply read:

Good Morning.

One of the rules of writing is:

know your reader, meet them where they are.

This fellow knows that rule,

he knows some readers need a laugh,

some: a simple hello.

Our exchange ended with a “God Bless.”

Then, I was on the highway,

hurtling through space at 65 mph,

next to a thousand strangers

flying together

yet alone.

Impermanence >