Rachel Walker

THE ONLY JOURNEY

“The only journey is the one within.”  – Rainier Maria Rilke

Forget your first kiss somewhere north of San Francisco.

Remember it again pumping gas outside Topeka.

Call your mother to let her know you’re still breathing

while munching turkey jerky off of Interstate 15.

Write your name with a green sharpie

on every rest stop mirror between Arkansas and Ohio.

Ignore the past slapping the pavement behind you

like a broken shoelace, or someone else’s hungry dog.