"Glow"

[gunwithoutmusic]

Contrails streak across the sky,
White lightning on a field of blue.
My eyes pull away from the road
And drift to you.

You're sleeping, softly breathing.
Three hours in, five more to go.
Our escape from the real world is ending;
I'll try to make it slow.

My gaze returns to the blacktop,
Parallels keeping me in line.
A thought, fleeting, comes and goes,
No longer mine.

Sadness comes in waves,
Crashing over other, better
Feelings I should be having.

Love, then. Your presence
Pulling me back.
Back to life, back to reality.

You sit there sleeping,
An unaware passenger,
Not even knowing
You make my world glow.

Comments

[murielle]

I've always tried to stay awake for the driver (who is never me because I don't drive) but sometimes that's just not possible. I wonder, often, what it's like for the one who has no choice but to stay awake. You've brought me a little closer to understanding.

There's an underlying sadness here...*Hugs*

[gunwithoutmusic]

Yeah, this is one that I was writing in my head while it was happening, during a long road trip home from seeing my Georgia family, with my husband in the passenger seat, and I'm finally actually writing it down! There was definitely some sadness but I think that overall, it's... Well, not happy, but hopeful.

[halfshellvenus]

The language and mood here are lovely.

I can't decide if this is about falling out of love with someone (or being on the edge of doing so), or about someone who thinks he is just a friend when the narrator is feeling so much more.

[gunwithoutmusic]

This was about my husband, while we were on a long road trip. He refuses to drive my car (I drive a Smart and he is terrified of being behind the wheel of it), so every time we make the trip, I always drive the full eight (in theory, in actuality it ends up being closer to ten) hours both ways. He was sleeping and thoughts were going through my head about how much I loved him and basically, wondering if he really understood that, and if I, too, was accurately gauging his feelings about me.

So there's definitely some sadness but also a lot of longing to say something that, by all rights, shouldn't have felt like something that needed to be said.

[alycewilson]

I feel the longing and sadness in this poem.

[gunwithoutmusic]

Thank you so much - I figured now was as good a time as any to work on my poetry since that usually goes a little faster. I'm glad it worked for you. :)

[adoptedwriter]

Awwww. Lovely...

[gunwithoutmusic]

Thank you :)

[swirlsofpurple]

Love the descriptive imagery here

[gunwithoutmusic]

Thank you! :D

[flipflop_diva]

Awww, this is really sweet. There's definitely an undercurrent of sadness, but at the same time, I think the end is really beautiful and meaningful.

(Plus, your thoughts are much better than mine, which are usually like 'how dare you be sleeping when we have so much time to go! entertain me!' or 'omg this trip is never going to end. help')

[gunwithoutmusic]

Lol I am so used to driving that when I'm doing long distance highway driving like that, it's almost meditative. Not having anyone else distracting me makes my mind wander and think up lines for stories or poems - maybe not the best thing to do when I'm driving! But when you're in South Georgia and the only car on the highway, it's ok I guess. :)