Poetry: A Dirt Road

A Dirt Road

A silver minivan

full of people

six children

one adult

drives off

from the main road

which is empty

onto a side road.

It is bumpy,

not smooth,

not paved,

All alone

winding through the mountain paths

twisting,

turning

honking

don’t crash is a thought important to all.

The car is full

of clothes and food

all ready for a mountain trip

to a place

which all fear

is in the middle

of nowhere.

Twisting turning

four children snoring

two children staring

out at the burned woods.

Then there is a place

where to turn?

where to go?

Scared worried,

stop the car,

one adult gets out.

Looks around

gets back in

and turns around.

Silent

except for the bumps of the road

reach a sign and turn

onto another dirt road.

Dust and dirt

makes it look

dull and dark.

Finally see

a sign

reading

“Atlanta, Idaho”

the town is empty

as a ghost.

A few rusty dirty cars

lie around

as if they’ve given up

forever.

There is not a soul to be seen

except for the silver minivan,

passing the ghost town

still silent and still.

Dust rises up around the car

as it continues driving

slowly down the

dirt mountain road.

Then there’s a sign,

“Private Property”

Two children cheer

and four children wake up

as the silver minivan

drives past the sign

to catch sight of a big house.

The car drives up to the house uncertainly

With six children staring wide-eyed.

The car stops with a crunch on the gravel

The adult gets out

walks up to the house

and looks at the door,

with the paper sign in red ink reading

“SHOES OFF PLEASE”

Then the car door opens

and six children run out.

Is this it?

“Yes,” says the oldest, a girl. “This is it. I saw the pictures.”

Six children run back to the car to grab luggage for a week,

then dash inside

for a peek

Then they pull the luggage in,

excited and talking.

“We’re first! We’re first!” is a cheer heard by all in the desolate, empty mountains.

They run around,

unpacking their stuff.

Two girls in room 33

a boy in room 36

the adult and a girl in room 35

and two boys, their cousins who had come in the car with them in the room at the end of the hall.

They wait for what feels like hours

then they hear

the sound of the front door opening again,

raising the cheer

“Cousins are here!”