29 hr (1,957 miles)via I-76 W and I-70 W
1. Orders
“Stand up every hour,”
the oncologist instructed.
Long way home ahead.
2. Borders
State line, then next one—
recovery marked in miles,
not medical charts.
3. Indie
Exit Indiana—
J.’s mom’s thumbprints cooling slow;
we stay one hour.
4. Night Roads
J. drives half-asleep—
mercury lights, semi trucks,
lanes of passing ghosts.
5. Southern Route
Morning in Kansas;
no ruby slippers this time—
tap heels, keep driving.
6. Love’s
Love’s gas stations boast
small dog parks behind the pumps.
We stop at them all.
7. Arrival
The Rockies appear,
blue shadows rising like breath.
I sit up straighter.