The cold desert road was your teacher. In silence,
moonlight pierced the windshield, reciting
lessons on the dead things curled at the margins
of the road as The Deftones filled your cage
in a complementary language.
In the rearview, you see a white Corvette
driven by a blond child. Her eyes weep tar.
The last 24 hours was a slog of stale gas station coffee
and a nest of empty bottles marked Five Hour Energy.
Like so many religions, even the radio betrays you, static
stabs through the music as the lights on the Vette
grow wide and owlish. There’s one test. Pass/Fail.
When you tell your foot to hit the accelerator, will it move
or will it remain inert as the road vanishes and the Vette
opens its mouth like a shark?
BIO: David Arroyo is a nerd and ex-catholic. His Dungeons & Dragons alignment is Neutral Good. He holds an MA in English from Florida State University and a MFA in Creative Writing from Stonecoast. He’s published poetry in Coffin Bell, Nocturne, Stirring, Silver Blade, and The Chamber.