____

My life in a canvas backpack
A bus ticket and a pack of gum
Fifty bucks in the pocket of my favorite jeans
A muted cell phone with a cracked screen
Rear windows subtract a fading past
Exhaust smoke slowly obscures  
A tear wets the corner of my smile
Facing the unknown from a worn vinyl seat
Something better down this two-lane highway
My future waits, one mile marker at a time