in the country i can still run   run away

run for distraction   today i saw a man in a truck

parked by the side of the road

an old truck   from the nineteen fifties   i think

all brown rust and heavy metal

and thick glass   he wasn't doing anything

just parked   i ran by with a little wave

ready to run like hell if need be

he   in turn   raised his hand as if to wave   but that was all

just the gesture of raising his hand   

just enough to make a connection between two strangers

with no shared history   no past or future 

just enough to say we are humans in a troubling time

i mean you no harm   we share the dharma