was I just younger then?
more open to the what happens
I had to just get away
thinking if I stayed somebody would die
& I did not want that to be me
riding out into the country
letting the miles slide by
pictures in a picture show
eyes caught by the wind
or so I wanted to believe
& then the sound no rider wants to hear
a missing beat in the engine
coughs & some loud backfire
& you count back miles to the gas stop
think of things that can go wrong
pulling over when the lurching begins
a dry scrape side of the road
checking the fuel plugs
doing that whole sweating kick start thing
& a bike pulled in behind
fella gets off’f it strolls over
y’ok? need a hand?
& you go over what’s been gone over
they notice a break in a HT lead
yeah that’ll do it eh?
grins all around
come back they say I got tape to fix that
& you follow
what else is there to do?
back at theirs the helmet comes off
& you see the first time
the rider is a girl
they notice the surprise & smile
gotcha eh?
you fix the lead
while she makes the coffee
& you get to stay a while