1. Across from the Taqueria El Paso
on the right side of a dark highway leading home
the addicts & their dogs are hoping for handouts.
Everyone looks exhausted. I am grateful for the panes
of fluorescent light on the asphalt, the absurd glow
of Icee machines: blood orange, blue lemonade, banana.
More grateful even for his slow drawl & manners.
I pay for coffees, he touches two fingers to the brim
of his Stetson.
2. Quality Plus
is a misnomer. These are the slowest damn pumps
in three counties, constantly clicking off.
At least the built-in tv sets are busted.
A lone rooster eyes me as I pump my gas, click pump,
click pump. He parades past The Refreshment Center,
all 8 machines, finds them lacking. His hens
take dust baths at the edge of the lot near
a Little Tykes plastic kitchen in orange & blue.
3. Larry’s
is one you only know about if you’re local.
A red sign over the door says Joy Dog Food
& other than that, two drink machines,
stacks of used tires. They close at 5 pm
plus Sunday. I’ve bought local eggs,
wire strippers, Orange Crush—
Larry once helped me fix my chainsaw
& talked about two-stroke engines.
When Roscoe was young he’d pee on your tire
then race you as you pulled onto the road.
Now Roscoe is nine and refuses to race,
even when I go slow and call out the window for him.
I wrote this poem in November 2021, and it will be published in my upcoming book of poetry titled, “Shoulders Made of Birds”.
The gas station in the first section has such good coffee that for years we called it “Cowboy Coffee.” Later they added a case of fresh, incredibly delicious doughnuts by the door and now we call it “Cowboy Doughnuts” and we go there to get our dessert on in-town date nights. Unfortunately, the lovely man in the Stetson doesn’t work there any more. And I still don’t know the actual name of the gas station.
The family with the rooster and chickens (and all the little kids) moved away from the house next door to the Quality Plus, but Roscoe is still the dog-boss at Larry’s, even though he doesn’t race your car any more.
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