Three lanes to two lanes
the corridor of Pines
Police has pulled one over
everyone over to the left
drive drive drive
brake lights all ahead
jump off at the exit if you can.
A 30-minute detour is always
better than being parked for five.
As you approach The Hot Place
the road undulates.
widen back to three
malfunction junction
Then the Chapin construction canal.
White Knuckle for 20 miles.
Next marker is the split off at Clinton.
Not too much farther down
on a clear day
you can start to see the mountains.
Pray you breeze through Spartanburg
you're almost there
last wee bit of South Carolina has cheap gas
and then as you cross the border
the cell phone coverage has gaps
and your audiobook pauses.
And then up up up
past the lumbering big rigs on the right
and you weave and up and down a bit
and, boom!, off you go: the exit
and you roll the window down
and you smell the mountain smell
Sweet Air
and up the Steep Chisholm Hill
around the bend the tire thumps
as it drops from asphalt to dirt and gravel
down the driveway
parked in Incline
step out and breathe deeply
and raise your hands
over your head to stretch
Home
