O Navigator
I'm an innocent bystander —
it's my lover who hikes
up river for mail and some-
times meets curious things
along the way, like the fellow
in the car just now, after the
flood in this valley, who needs
to get to "west layden road" — my
lover corrects him, "you mean west
leyden road?" "yes," he says, then adds
"my navigator says it's this way"
pointing to his dashboard, then southward
"but there isn't any road this way since the flood"
she points south
"but my navigator says it is this way"
he points south
she kindly continues, "it is this way"
pointing south
"but the road's gone"
still pointing
inch by inch
pointing someone
back to earth
_________________________________
BOB ARNOLD
Beautiful Days
Longhouse 2013
photo © bob arnold
when "River Road" became a river
during Hurricane Irene
