Dark spreads like blood pooling beneath the bruised skin, but warm –
Or as though the earth is an eye, lids closing slowly and shadowing inward,
And in this swelling night, in this place slowly cooling to the touch,
The air compressor blasts and growls, channeling breath into the long-resting tires,
So they may ride a little longer, though they hiss and squeal;
Cacti stand vigil in the Arizona landscaped yards, or recline passive,
Rows of inanimate thorny paddles, Mickey Mouse ears, teardrops;
From the lawn chair she hears the crickets counting time in the purpling air,
Asphalt throws the heat of the day back into the moonlit sky,
caught now and then by the smooth belly of a lizard;
All curtains drawn, all garage doors shut like tombs but this one,
the night gathers in the folds of the driveway apron, but I take one of the bikes
and my middle aged self, and ride down the middle of the smooth, deserted road, the moon enough –
Turning, watching the ranch houses with their windowed eyes shut tight,
Not a breath to fog the mirror on the handlebars,
Not a penny to hold fast the eyes;
I ride on borrowed air, slowly, weaving life into the still night,
Standing on the pedals, saving the old-lady cushioned seat, grudging bouncy tires slow and thoughtful,
Thinking about nothing, thinking about riding on though I know I will turn back into that driveway,
will swing one leg over the bike and stand on one pedal before jumping off,
will check again the skittering pulse of the night,
will smooth the sheet of wan moonlight across her lap,
will turn the fevered wind into a deep breath
while the night’s black fingers crawl westerly across the Rocky mountains,
bleeding dark across the vast and deep Pacific ocean,
racing around again before long toward the Midwest
and our empty beds.
Halfway North 