Mary Lou helped found the Poetry Center San Jose and has published several books. I recently discovered her website and would love to share her poem. For those of you have been here, you know she has captured it perfectly.

Driving Bohlman Road

The last house on an unpaved road
looks over the mountain top,
a fire road to the reservoir,
the sharp drop of a ridge on the left,
greenery on the right. Goodbye

to good friends in late afternoon, goodbye
to two deer and the Steller’s jays harsh calls.
No time to ponder recent talk of poetry,
of haiku and lyric, of classic poems
reinvented, of Pound, Hicok, Bly.

The car makes turn after turn high
above the village. In the canyon below
a glimpse of vineyards.
Just beyond the mountain peak
the ocean, flat and silver.

Redwood branches droop. Oak leaves
touch across the road. Madrone, saffron
trunks bright against the green. Sword fern
fastened to banks sprinkled with fall red
of poison oak and brown of bark.

Passing the Scout camp, the oil
of eucalyptus trees on the wind.
A breeze changes shadows.
Sun’s shades of light and dark.
One white butterfly startles.

An orange truck on monster wheels
its grill a jailhouse door
side by side with a small brown truck
the size of Bishop’s moose.
Hazard lights blink white sparkle-glitter.

Both vehicles block the road. Halfway down
the long, winding road to town
no way to move, time at last
to dream and write,
more passenger than driver.

Past experience and research coerced me in the direction of a Honda. Probably a relatively recent Civic with moderate mileage. While a hybrid was appealing, the extra expense for minimal efficiency for our location in the mountains seemed foolish. I set out on the quest.

The ensuing events at Capitol Honda in San Jose led me down a different path. The result was the acquisition of a new Honda FIT for about the same amount I would have spent on a gently used Civic. This is the first all-new car I have ever purchased and so far I am not disappointed. The reviews are good and it seems to meet our need perfectly. I have already tried its cargo area. It is easy to get looms and spinning wheels in and out–and people too. We’ll see if it holds up over the long haul.