William Corner Clarke
Kabbala of the Highway
In the traffic jam
On one of Moses'
Baking highways
Stuck between the Bronx and Queens
A crack appeared
In the afternoon
And magic began to rise
Shimmering above the asphalt
To pass away the time
While it was being repaired
We began scrying for numbers
Looking for prophecies
We wrote down the digits
Of the licence plates
Of every third blue car
And converted them into letters
Imagining that
The infinite names of God
Might be written
On the backs of dust covered
Chevy's and Fords
Lights changed
We inched forward
Some lanes moving faster than others
We seemed to be on the point
Of discovering
A divine sentence
But before we could put
The words in order
Our thoughts betrayed us
We just could not keep
From looking through
The rear view mirror
Or turning our heads
To the side of the road
You behind the wheel
Ash from your cigarette
Falling on your summer dress
Myself, light headed
After drinking too much the night before
Trying to concentrate
For more than a moment
And failing every time
The day passed on
In discrete lengths of automobiles
Then, suddenly
The enchantment was broken
We found ourselves
Moving at speed across the bridge
Out of the wasteland
Of gravel, gasoline and ravens
Forgetting
Our childish game
Page(s) 178-179
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