First Road Trip Alone

oh yeah
it was a very good year
yes it was
'56 and coast to coast two-lanes
pickup trucks comin'
chrome finned luxury goin'
hog pens stinkin'
corn troughs feedin'
grain silos and wheat fields
peekin' ‘tween Burma Shave signs wavin'

ahh

happy pee times
and food stops
Wonder Bread and mayonnaise
thunderhead clouds
soakin' locust caked asphalt
reflectin' streetlights and headlights
colors goin' wild

just me in my flamingo ford ‘53
broken bird ornament
atop prime-painted hood
flyin' high we was
radio blastin' Shake Rattle and Roll
me nodding to myself
uh huh
uh huh
i'm bad
i'm smokin'
i'm smilin'
i'm adult now
so damn adult now

laughable
so laughable

don't make 'em like that anymore
first road trip alone
so alone and free
not knowing up ahead
my hubris shadow was stirrin'
about to teach me what alone
really meant--

alone