Homeward Bound

Pop-pop
Always started whistling
When the mountains bulged around us
As we trucked down 81

I thought
Going home was boring
And the mountains seemed constricting
When the trees blocked out the sun

I tossed that Appalachian blanket
A long long time ago
It was scratchy
Rusty
Sappy
And I wanted something more

But then I found that old blue blanket
In a box of autumn orange hues
It smelled of lilacs blooming
At the dawning of the spring
Of the hot and humid summer
Condensed in soggy rain
And then it spoke in halted whispers
Of winter's sharpened stillness
Shattered by the train

So now I start to whistle
While I drive down 81
My old blanket wrapped around me
As the trees block out the sun