MOURNING COMMUTE, by martha mckay canter

We’re all on speed, every one of us—
Coffee, Red Bull, Adderall
 Coke and Phendimetrazine
each with his particular poison,
silently negotiating
between the lines.

Sleep-deprived,
drugs jammed between our knees,
we drive in the dark,
yielding reluctantly.

Tomorrow, we’ll go again,
blinking sleepy eyes
against the disquieting
regret and the nag
of bad decisions 
that unite us.

Martha McKay Canter is a PhD candidate at Florida State University. She spends as much time as she can on a mountain in North Carolina where she peacefully coexists with legions of ladybugs and one determined cardinal.