A little after midnight
I pull the Pontiac LeMans
Off the interstate
Before Flagstaff
Onto Route 66___
Kyla sleeps against the door
Not knowing we are stopping for the night
At a motel
The Flamingo Motel Hotel
Red sign bright neon
I pull up to the office
Get us a room
Kyla wake
“Where are we?”
“Flagstaff, Arizona. A motel.”
Park the Le Mans before room 109
Same number as the address
of my family home
On the South Shore of Boston
Thousands of miles away___
Tonight
No more driving
I want to sleep with Kyla
In a double bed
On clean sheets
After a shower___
Kyla goes first
I go second
A long shower
Wash off three days of the road
New York to here___
I come out dry and clean
Kyla already asleep
The only light from the motel sign
Trucks diesel on Route 66
I step outside
Barefoot
Towel around my waist___
Truck fumes on the high desert night
The Le Mans the only car in the parking lot
Ours the only occupied room
Ours the only bed
We’re not making love tonight___
But maybe in the morning
Another day’s drive to LA
Unless we see the Grand Canyon tomorrow
It’s worth the detour
Especially after a stop at the Flamingo Motel Hotel
And greeting the Arizona dawn
Naked
Together___