I feel like I fell asleep
in the passenger seat,
and woke up a thousand miles
from where I last remember.

I wonder how I got this far
when the depressed slumber kept me
numb.
How many sights and trees did I miss
passing by when my eyes were closed,
and I, lost to unconsciousness?

So I look to the driver’s side,
surprised, because the one
behind the wheel is me.

“I don’t understand…”
I say to my driving-self,
but they just smile.

“It’s okay, you’ve been through much
and needed the rest more than me.
I’m happy to get us where we
need to be.”

“So who are you?” I ask them,
wondering how along all these
rocky roads and through the dark night,
they managed to keep driving
without ever getting tired.

“Your Hope, so don’t worry.
We’re almost there.”

“Almost where?”

And with a confidence I fully believe,
they just wink at me.

So I lean my head back on the window,
doing my best to stay
awake for the ride,
but trusting that if I need
to sleep, my Hope will
always drive me.

---

YOUR PROMPT FOR THE DAY

Find an abstract way to reflect on a recent journey, whether it was a trip to the store, or your four years at college. If you could talk through your experiences with yourself, what might you say while on that journey?

If you decide to share something for this prompt, be sure to tag it on social media with #CountdownToTheStars.

---

This post is the “Roads” entry in the Countdown to the Stars blog series. To learn more about the countdown and the book (coming Nov 2022) visit stillthestars.com.

This post was originally shared to Queery Letters which is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Featured photo by Elayna Mae Darcy © 2022