I used to mock my father and his chums
for getting up early on Sunday morning
and drinking coffee at a local spot
but now I’m one of those chumps.
No one cares about my old humiliations
but they go on dragging through my sleep
like a string of empty tin cans rattling
behind an abandoned car.
It’s like this: just when you think
you have forgotten that red-haired girl
who left you stranded in a parking lot
forty years ago, you wake up
early enough to see her disappearing
around the corner of your dream
on someone else’s motorcycle
roaring onto the highway at sunrise.
And so now I’m sitting in a dimly lit
caf
(Edward Hirsch)
More Poetry from Edward Hirsch:
Edward Hirsch Poems based on Topics: Cars- Wild Gratitude (Edward Hirsch Poems)
- Late March (Edward Hirsch Poems)
- Edward Hopper and the House by the Railroad (1925) (Edward Hirsch Poems)
- Fall (Edward Hirsch Poems)
- Poor Angels (Edward Hirsch Poems)
- For the Sleepwalkers (Edward Hirsch Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Cars PoemsBased on Keywords: red-haired, humiliations, motorcycle, chumps