he walked from one end of town to the other…passed closed down storefronts…used car lots…fillin’ stations…

wanted to stop by the cemetery to pay his respects…parents long since gone…some high school buddies as well…wanted to stop…couldn’t bring himself to do it…

saw a line of people outside the Zesto ice cream shop…high school girls in short shorts…tough punks smokin’ cigarettes…trucks drivin’ by with mufflers missin’…

sat down by the river and watched the brown water swirl ’round…tree trunks bein’ carried down stream…remembered his dad takin’ him fishin’ there…couldn’t keep any of ’em…too small…always too small…

and the Sun sat quietly while semis pulled freight down the highway…Chevys and Fords ran right past him…sky turned purple and orange like sherbet…he licked his lips…one hand in his pocket and the other with a thumb extended…walkin’ backwards…hopin’…just hopin’ for a ride…