Julie Ellinger Hunt’s poem Carcass appeared here as part of Contributor Series 7: The Confessional Diary of Bone. Her second book of poetry, In New Jersey, is forthcoming at unbound CONTENT. Click here for a preview.
Your Road
By Julie Ellinger Hunt
I’m like the only car on this road.
It’s dark, ridden with shards of glass,
the skeletons of my past, the ashes of
potential days I could have spent with you.
My sick bag of bones I carry, lay in the trunk
and with each bump, they shift and
I become someone new.
This time the dark road is you,
your body, the depths of you.
And I choose to drive onward because
I can finally let my guard down,
breathe normally, take off the costume
I was made to wear, and just drive.
I fell in love with that road
not because it was safe or easy but
because I belonged there. I finally
belonged some place where
I could move forward and understand
how I work. And finally be happy.
As I drove, there were warnings,
flashes, telling me I needed to be
cautious and I didn’t see them, I just
drove, tunnel-visioned. I drove on
determined it was my place to navigate,
until you put up that final road block.
And let me go.
Now I can’t even figure out how to
make the engine turn …
And I’m stuck.
… stuck here in this dirt pit.
Just when I thought there was hope it ended sad. Great job.
Great metaphor. I think I heard you read this when you were interviewed by Annmarie.