A Hotel Room Off The Highway 1985

A little after midnight
I pull the Pontiac LeMans Off the Highway Onto Route 66 Kyla sleeps against the door Not knowing we are stopping for the night At a motel The Flamingo Motel Hotel Red sign bright white lights I pull up to the office Get us a room You wake "Where are we?" "Flagstaff, Arizona. A motel." Park the Le Mans before room 109 Same number as my family home On the South Shore of Boston Thousands of miles away No more driving I want to sleep with Kyla tongiht In a bed On clean sheets After a shower Kyla goes first I go second A long shower Been three days on the road from New York I come out dry and clean Kyla already asleep The only light from the motel sign Trucks dieseling by on Route 66 I step outside Truck fumes on the high desert night The Le Mans the only car in the parking lot Ours the only occupied room Oirs the only bed To make love maybe not tonight But maybe in the morning It's been three days Another day's drive to LA Unless we see the Grand Canyon tomorrow It's worth the detour Especially after a stop at the Flamingo Motel Hotel And greeting the Arizona dawn Together___