I’ll tell you how to get there

How to look up at the blue expansive sky

sun in your eyes, quiet

except for the rustle of grass and bird song

the hawk perched on a hay bale.

 

How to drive four miles and enter town

see the welcome sign to your left

banners of events and fairs

“Cole Camp Fair September 7, 8, 9”

markers to celebrate rural life

pass the library and Dollar General

greet the neighbor mowing her lawn

and see the lake visitors

feasting on ice cream and burgers at the Dairy Bar.

 

I’ll tell you how to get there, how to —

drive slow and watch for kids on bikes

the mothers and their strollers

the golf carts cruising up and down.

 

I’ll tell you how to get there, how to —

wave to oncoming cars

with a nod of the head

the acknowledgment that you’re both here

and “I see you.”

 

How to stop at the 4-Way

letting the ladies who lunch

cross with their shopping bags

the bank workers loaded with take-out food.

 

I’ll tell you how to get there, how to —

slow down, relish the journey

and delight in being where you are

Cole Camp, Missouri.

 

*Based on a prompt from Rachel Marie Kang in Let There Be Art.

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