Love Poem: Highway Wind
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Written by: Ken Rone

Highway Wind

I drive the night because of open road.
My retreads are sounding strong.
Hauling cars up from New Orleans
Where I'm not sure that I belonged.

Traded whiskey for a woman
At a bar in Abilene.
Then a long haul up to Portland town
Helped along by methadrine.
                
There’s a lady there in Stumptown
She dances on the pole
Makes her pay in dollar bills
She's never ever home

Daylight fades and night descends
Men come, await their fate.
She sucks them dry and infects their soul,
Relights her lamp and waits…

She goes to church on Sunday.
Always comes in late.
She says a prayer, she sheds a tear,
puts food stamps in the plate.

Dropped my load down at the docks
there's a motel by the sea.
Homebase for my Peterbilt
That's parked out by the tree 

Called her up, the kids are home.
I hear them laughining on the phone.
Grandma says to call again,
She'll tell her I'm in town.

“Yea. tell her I'm in town again
And kiss the kids for me,
Gotta leave on Tuesday”.
Hung up and fell asleep.

The phone rang in the morning.
The call was short and sweet.
She had some things she had to do,
Didn’t think that we could meet.

Fueling up, the fog horns moan.
Red pills to feed the beast.
A woman left back in the fog.
A white line headed east.

  Look at my life
       Some say I've sinned.
           My dreams were blown away 
                 By the cruel ... 
                        Highway Wind.