advent journal: highway song

highway song

here is a well-traveled
metaphor: life is a highway
but not an interstate
more of a two-lane blacktop
that hits all the lights
in every small town
an intentional inconvenience
that makes you decide to stop

at one of those roadside cafés
a filling station of the heart
where whoever comes up
to the table is wearing a
name tag and a smile, yet
holds sadness in their eyes
either one is an invitation
to act like you belong here

we are all people who are
driving through the details
lives without express lanes
unable to see around the bend
to the next stop light of sorrow
working our way back home
full of grief and gratitude
following the broken line

Peace,
Milton