Our 35th installment haunts and lingers, like a ghost car that trails you for blocks. Just in time for All Souls’ Day and Dia de los Muertos, Brian Barnett’s “Night Drive” foreshadows journeys waiting down the road.
***
Night Drive
Down the dark highway
My headlights blaze a path
Nothing but shadowed tree limbs
And signage to keep me company
I catch a glimpse of a man
He stood upright and rigid
Wearing dapper clothes
And has his thumb jutted
Toward my destination
I slow a bit considering to help
But he doesn’t budge
I pull up next to him
And ask where he’s going
I stare at his shirt as he hasn’t moved
He finally bends at the waist
Sudden reluctance siezes me
His collar is spattered and damp and red
His chin had nearly reached my view
When I sped away
I happened one last glance
In my rearview and
A human shape dissipated
In a red taillight mist
