Poem: Remember the Ride

Prompt from Magpie Tales

DeSoto, Chevrolet, Austin, Plymouth or Lincoln.
Who can remember that now?
Brother, boyfriend, father or friend.
Long gone from memory now.
Siblings, friends, lovers or strangers.
Lost from memory, saved on film.

The tires were hot, in the Missouri sun.
Paint gleaming, a boy's pride and joy.
Engine rumbling, pulsing, tired of waiting.

Three smiling faces at the camera,
two reflections in the paint face them.
Photographer, and lover laughing.

A wild bunch of five, ready to run.
Dirt red roads stretching before them.
Flat runs, tight turns and rolling hills.

Gas, clutch, brake. Steer. Laugh.
Girlish screams, soft and high.
Nervous laughter behind the wheel.

Heavy springs float them along,
dust blows behind down the road
behind them like a rooster tail.

No one remembers their names.
Their faces captured for that moment
on film, a print lost to their families.

No one remembers the day or time,
if there was a destination in mind.
All they remember is the ride.

copyright 2011 Shanyn Silinski