highway of solitude

driving through a construction zone

my body numb, yet every bump sends shards

of pain through me that are mind-

wrenchingly cold

i taste salt

the lights and lines blur in front of me

i drive faster

pine needles sink into my skin

my mom once had me searching for a small

puzzle piece for days

you are the piece that probably got vacuumed and lost forever.

i never found it. i never will.

i am not incomplete without you, necessarily.

if i crop the picture, the scenery is lovely.

no one needs to know that this landscape stretches

on for miles.

i'll show you the babbling brook, for it is beautiful 

and requires no mending

but i'll hide the torn down fence and the crumbling barn

i am ashamed they are not fixed.

the highway extends into eternity and i wonder 

if you'd miss me

if i just disappeared into the night.

an hour ago i was blissfully happy to be your

companion in laughter.

now i am solitary in tears.