Snow piled horizontal on the trees and fence. Thick shadows that persist after early sunsets. I told her "everything smart's already died or fled." She said "let's ghost: haunt the deep-fried countryside south, till we defrost, standing under the Spanish moss on the third coast." But we'd be there that spring; I'd told her I had a bad feeling 'bout it, she said "you get a bad feeling 'bout everything." Hanging like locks on the overpa**, I held a cigarette up to the headlights below so I'd know when to ash.
I was quiet. She's right: I'm learning too slow that I'll go nowhere fast. What a drag. Is this one of those things that I can figure out, or just one of those things I'll learn to live without? If I'm waiting, I don't know what for. Whatever it is, it don't seem worth it now. Look how far I can extend my adolescence. I'm not sure, but I think that it's impressive that I can't leave, head lodged in the firmament. Full-grown and struggling with object permanence.