backseat passenger

Backseat

Backseat passenger
her gaze lays silently straight ahead

his big hazel eyes
and thick dark eyebrows
focus steadily toward the road
through
the rearview mirror

backseat passenger
feels the chill of air outside and landscapes
as she passes by
and she is hesitant



to speak Up
and tell him
he had missed her stop
miles back
she knows he could never let her go…
she’s searched
and met those same eyes for approval
she’s praised
those same dark eyebrows for achievement
she’s feared
for a crack in the rearview mirror in anger
and punishment
but she never looked toward them for freedom

how come?

He’s given nothing
but love
to her

she’s learned to give back
she’s learned to have patience as the
Backseat passenger

Always…
staring into the rearview mirror
she yearns for him to notice her
he’s been choosing the safe roads for her for
years
why can’t he gently place the keys into her hand?
he needs to understand

Backseat passenger…
watches yellow lines carefully as thick borders between states smear and disappear into a dirt road and she notices a new backseat passenger

Smiling…



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