Out of Gas

“Retired Ranch Hand” by Neil Hamelin at neilhamelin.com

old bucket of bolts slipping gears
slowing coughing and sputtering
needle gauge nervously flits
hovers over the red zone
low fuel light comes flickering

here the road reaches remoteness
the middle of nowhere
no rescue or aid in the offing
no witness to mark journey’s end
just the silence of stillness

the music of motion now memory
life as it lived in the travels
the driving between start and stop
with its coursing relationships
miles that mattered regardless the end

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“Fortunate people often have very favorable beginnings and very tragic endings. What matters isn’t being applauded when you arrive – for that is common – but being missed when you leave.” – Baltasar Gracian