road trip in september in pandemic

google maps is obsessed with giving you the fastest route
it seems to understand efficiency and nothing else, not how
i go out of my way to see sun on the hudson
i can’t take pictures while i drive so i’ll use words for eyes
cam jansen vibes
the city of newburgh has a hand painted welcome sign
and there’s a town in new york called tuxedo
i take a screenshot for joel at four hours twenty minutes away
accidentally text it to a joel i once went on a tinder date with
on I 95 i pass a car that’s on fire, yes FIRE, giant flames
bad omen in a series of many
everyone slows down to see including me
on 32 north a man strolls on the side of the highway
jacket over shoulder, like misato and kaji
walking home from the party
the leaves in vermont float from multicolored trees
in slow motion
i feel lucky to have a couple days off and the freedom
of a car, to be alone in a box where i can sing along
to elton john as loud as i want
the director describes misato as
“a woman who lives life so lightly as to
barely allow the possibility of human touch”
sounds familiar