Night Companions

Between the hours of 11pm until 4am the interstates are pretty much owned by us truckers.

It's night and the lot is 

full of  sleeping giants;

some chortling in idle

some silent in wait.

In their covered chambers

the drivers snooze;

dreaming of girls? fishing?

of being home?

Another night, quiet

and cool, the arc of

the street lights

is my friend.

At night

I can drive with my 

brothers and sisters.

We travel in packs

with the occasional

4 wheeler weaving

between us; we

watch, wary for signs of drink.

Watching the trees

looking for shining eyes

or movement.

A deer unsure where to run.

It's night

and I begin another mile

toward 500 more 

and the coming day.

Reviews

[Stanley Wilson]

I was there in the cab what a drive great work buddy

[Mark]

Thank you very much Stanley. I showed this to my driver manager and he asked me if I thought 'Normal people would understand what it's like"... Apparently they would LOL Thanks again.

[icelandicblue]

They don't call it a long haul for nothing. You capture the experience expertly with your words while bringing the reader along for the ride.

[Mark]

Thanks very much ice. :)

[Mockingbird]

conveys the experience of being a truck driver and their relationship with one another, how you and your fellow truckers are somewhat family. stark and to the point, no flowery words. excellent job.

[redflutterby]

Wonderful imagery Mark....takes us along on that lonely ride. Thanks for sharing!! ;-)

[Mark]

Thanks for reading :)

[dw817]

⊰ℛℛ⊱
You did mention to me in PM that you are a truck driver. Hmm ... I wish you the best and many safe and happy miles ahead of you - both on the road and in life. :)

[Mark]

Thanks David. Very kind of you.

[dw817]

I guess I did want to mention that when Dad took me cross-country one time. ?? I'm trying to remember why and I can't. Anyways, it was him and me only and we stopped at a truck stop and WOW they got some great stuff in there ! Beautiful gifts, blown glass items, stuffed animals, and figurines and stuff.

We also stopped to eat as there was a diner and I hadda Chicken Fried Steak and it was really quite good.

Where I'm at now there are no truck stops nearby. I would have to go cross-country again I guess to see one again. :)

[Mark]

There is a Love's off I 20 not too far from you, but ya you'd have to go south on I45 about 2 hours to BUC-EE's to see that kind of truck stop. And they don't have an inside restaurant there, but there are several close by.

[dw817]

I just thought that was so neat you got cool stores like that which are ready to feed and get gifts for truck drivers and their families. :)

[Mark]

ya, I guess so. I see 2 or 3 of them every day. Flying J is a cool one, they have a TV room for drivers. It's kind of off to the side where if you didn't know it was there, you probably wouldn't go down that way. I said BUC EE's was a truck stop, but really it's just for cars. They don't allow big trucks on their lot. Still, it's got all kinds of different gift, touristy stuff you can buy and the food is good. I had a club sandwich which was the best I'd ever eaten.

[dw817]

I remember Dad used to take my and my sister by something called the Keyes Club. We got to swim there all the time, we were the only ones there so we had the swimming pool to ourselves and we could get lemonade and club sandwiches and stuff. It was pretty neat.

When Dad went with a g/f of his to Ajijic in Mexico, I could get a lemonade and club sandwich for one quarter, but I had to share the swimming pool with a buncha giggly girls. Oboy. :/

I also learned to play pool a bit there as Dad's G/F brought her son, a few years older than me, and they hadda pool table there and he showed me how to do corner shots. I also bought 'spanic comic books and Dad who is bilingual would read them to me at night there. Good times ...

What's one of the neatest truck stops you've found where they have the awsomest gifts ?

[Mark]

Probably the Iowa 80 Truck stop. http://iowa80truckstop.com/ it's huge and has everything including a trucker museum.

[dw817]

OMy ! (Checking out link !) Wholly smacks, that place is huge !
Owow, I like that shopping cart with oversized wheels !
No, me and Dad were in Austin, where he was born. We did some fishing out there and visited some relatives in our cross-country journey. At this point my sister - well - she wasn't there - so it was just me and Dad.

[KeelyJane]

I think maybe I'll be a trucker in my next life. You painted a serene picture here. Thanks for sharing.

[Mark]

Well... serene for a little while until the morning commute starts lol thanks for reading

[eglantine]

"the lot is full of / the hulks of" that is very wordy--condense more? I could never be a semi driver... I'd fall asleep on the road while driving at night. Nice tone throughout the poem. Thanks for sharing!

[Mark]

Thanks e. I'm wore out atm but I will look later.

[Vikrantsingh]

Good share Mark :) loved the way you expressed it Excellent!
Cheers!
Singh :)

[Archangel Gabriel]

A very well portrayed picture of the trucker's time. In some ways isolated in feel but in others a secret coveted and quiet place.

[Mark]

yes, I think you have understood! :)