long road

asphalt bleets starving in the night
would be archangel at the roadside
tolls for the soul in exact change only
out here
all the truckers have halos
all their diesel beasts have horns
only holy tumbleweed have aquired
what these spirits chase
rain drops across windshields and hat brims
the penance of icy fingertips
a cigarette's purgatory
as it freezes in the air
and the rear view window
Budha behind the aviators and jump suit
of every gas jockie