Dogfish car

9 x 14 x 6

stoneware paperclay, underglazes, glazes

2023

private collection

It took us 10 days to get to the west coast

and 4 1/2 hours for me to return home

It was a trip with a friend 

who was once a sister-in-law

A trip that was more about bringing home 

the remains of another person’s life

The kinds of things that don’t have much value 

beyond the sentimental.

We set off from NJ 

with a very loose plan:

A deadline and list 

of must-see attractions

Maps, books and gps 

We drove a rental car that cost 

as much as an east coast

mortgage payment. 

Hoping luck and the weather 

would be on our side.

Along the way we saw America:

We stood on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, 

Visited the Jungle room at Graceland

Saw the inside of Dolly’s Tennessee mountain home

As well as visiting  

our own Tennessee mountain families

We looked out over the field 

in Shanksville, Pennsylvania

that was the final resting place for Flight 93 

and stood outside of the hotel room 

where Martin Luther King Jr. spent his last day 

We walked along the sidewalk 

And climbed the steps of 

Little Rock Central High School. 

Early morning, New Years Day

found us looking across the reflecting pool 

at 168 empty chairs 

in Oklahoma City. 

We saw some people,

Maybe for the last time

It was a trip of a lifetime

And I was glad I said yes.