Poetry

My Constant Companion


One night I saw Death
hitch-hiking on the highway
holding a sign that read
Going Nowhere
so I picked him up
and we drove around for a while.

He refused to wear a seatbelt,
preferred the dark country roads
with their unexpected bends,
kept wishing it would snow.

I insisted on drive-thru coffee,
thinking it might be wise
to stay awake.

We listened to talk shows
and requiems,
chatted about acid rain,
flirted a little.

The trouble started when I asked
where he wanted to be dropped off.

I’m not going anywhere, he said.

Hence, my dilemma.

Michelle Barker’s poetry has been published in several online and print journals and will appear in this year’s Best Canadian Poetry anthology. Visit her at www.michellebarker.ca