Mother Road

The remnants of the Mother Road
head out of Chicago toward Lake Michigan
A patchwork quilt now held together
by nostalgia and by-pass detours
in the shadow of the Interstate highway
Go west young man, indeed

Who get's their kicks in the well worn grooves
That inspired Steinbeck and Jack's seminal road trip?
Well thumbed titles sticking out of the back pocket of hitchhiker jeans
Black and white images of Corvettes from TVs golden age
inspired another generation
who lost their way and found their soul

Talking cars teach history to toddlers
in darkened theater sequels and DVD coupons for toys
Grandparents motor coaches catch a glimmer of the summer sun
buying souvenir signs posing by relics and balls of twine
The biggest, the best, the oldest of whatever
all marked neatly on a folded map with a paperclipped itinerary

Of blown tires in Joliet that came with the break of dawn
Where a slithering off-ramp snake wake-up call for gas
at Jumpin' Jimmy's Crossroads Pitstop
Gives pause to reach for a pen
For this is still the Mother Road
for each who wanders her way.