Travel Memory
In a minivan on the interstate driving to Maine.
My boyfriend drives, my mother sits in the passenger seat.
Me and my sister take the middle seats, and
the cousin visiting from Italy sits in the back.
I was seventeen…eager and horny, angry when my mom
wouldn’t let me and the boyfriend sleep in the same bed.
At L.L. Bean, the boyfriend and I crawled in a tent and
made-out, then I bought a backpack.
There was tension and humpback whales, there was
not enough money and long, silent strips of highway
where we stewed in lies and suffering. Our final
night in Maine we stayed at the Bunk & Bagel.
I felt tired and poor, hungry for eggs, bacon, but there
were only bagels. And my sister was in love, and my
mother was angry. My boyfriend smiled, and the Italian
cousin kept rubbing his chin, pursing his lips.
VANESSA SHIELDS 