Neeli Cherkovski - February 2008
 
HITCHHIKING

 
 
you want to stay in my room?
the God who sleeps there
is mute, he has no eyes, his arms
are made of limestone, and if I fumble
for my badge it is because
I need to find my handgun
and to drive you
into town, so if I leave you alone
will you crawl onto my body
and then between my legs? I need
to find the photograph, I want you to see
my child, and to know
I am not in trouble, the God
who weeps is not my God, the song
of this road is what make me sad, but
I’ll give you anything for now, here is
my badge, this is the way we talk
in private, how we grip the wheel and
here is where we turn, the way my mind
turns, please trust me, I will not
leave you, never speak your name, who are you?
why do we see only the lights
of the town before us and not the end
of our leaving? so I will drop you off
by the Mission and disappear
from sight, it has no rime behind it, no
rhythm before it, just an emptiness
I cannot name
 
 
 

Neeli Cherkovski is the author of "Naming the Nameless", "Hank: The Life of Charles Bukowski", "Elegy for Bob Kaufman" and many other books.