Quick run to the store
after dark. Moon-roof open.
Windows down, driving.

Alone, I glance back.
Car-seat is empty. Not one
passenger. Alone.

The night is pulsing.
Lights fly by; I slice through them.
I lick my lips, drive.

Maybe a little
too fast? Wind licks the side of
my face, hair swirling.

Fingers tapping the
wheel. Foot tapping the floorboards.
Body keeps rhythm…

Loud music playing.
Perhaps, a little too loud?
Feeling young. Alive.

My eyes flash to the
rearview. My high school self looks
back at me, grinning.

Just for a moment.
Then she vanishes. But I
am left with her smile.