~ Delta Poetry Review ~

Austin Allen James

The Road to Pensacola

Air sweeps through time toward distance—

a boat, a plane, a Yukon with a trailer—a bit

of hard candy in each belly. My children and I

love road trips and bad habits, moments that float

like wisteria in the andante fog and cling to each eyelash.

The air that surrounds us is the most bewitching.

We are Texas, just west of the Florida line—I see the flash

of a patrol car in miffed pursuit. There are no tags

on my trailer, and I possess a massively expired driver’s license

bent with use. “We are under arrest!” I exclaim, and the children

squeal with excitement. Sure, I’m a little dramatic like a Rambler

fastback on the tip end of a peninsula, but kiddos like that sort of thing.

I pull the Yukon to the shoulder. My son shoves games

and bags of chips under his seat. My daughter rolls

down the window, eager to learn that June bugs can play

the saxophone. I stare as the officer approaches the open

window and says, “Why’d you take so long to pull over?”

“He couldn’t see beyond the trailer.”

Take a breath. I pull my eyes from Johnny Law,

pause and investigate my son’s shimmering

statement—“You are a good son,” I say. The officer nods

in accord, and we travel forward with no more than a warning.

Austin Allen James is a Visiting Professor at Texas Southern University in Houston, TX. He has taught at TSU since the Fall of 2012. In 2016, Austin and colleagues formed a committee to create a “Professional Writing” concentration, which includes five creative writing classes. Austin is also a visual artist/sculptor.