300 miles

300 miles between us won't fix much of anything...
but we stay. on our respective sides. one to the east, one to the west.
i don't belong on the east side, but here i sit. waiting, wondering, fuming, musing, missing, screaming.
i belong in the west. on our prairie. where your wise words and jokes flow like the cannonball.

i know you don't remember. i just couldn't back down. i had to stand my ground. i think on any other day you would have been proud. but that day, it was too hot. it was too much. it wasn't ok. it was too hot. our tempers were too hot. and 300 miles between us won't fix much of anything..

stubborn and strong we are. stubborn and strong we remain. no sound on either side. bloody war. no smoke signals, no nothing. it's silence for 300 miles. a very loud, prominent silence. the absence of sound cuts through my heart like a knife. on that day, one red truck went east, one went west. no goodbye. just tires on the pavement. spinning. racing.

daily thoughts, i bury. i put them away. i put them in a box and tape them up. 300 miles of silence. 300 miles is a long way. what could i say. what should i say. how do i begin. i can't apologize. i can't make a joke. i can't stand these goddamn 300 miles.

that day, heading east. tires on the pavement. tears in my eyes. ache in my heart. i can't carry on this way. with these 300 miles of silence. something has to give. it has to be me. maybe a song, maybe the mutton tale, maybe...maybe...just erasing 300 miles. because 300 miles between us won't fix much of anything.