Closed in on the Open Road
Have you noticed the change?
The freedom of the road
is becoming a fast fading memory.
It is not the same out here anymore;
the open road is closing in on me.
Where I could once roam alone,
I am now being followed
by clicking cameras,
which monitor me
everywhere I go.
Someone is watching me,
as I roll down the window
and loosen my hair.
Can they also hear the music,
I have just tuned into,
on what should have been
a deserted stretch of highway?
I want to pull over and photograph the herd;
how long will I have before they notice
and tell me to move on?
The starscape whispers stop,
be dazzled by my light show;
but the heavens appear to be blinking
instead of twinkling.
I miss being able to talk to a stranger,
about the roadside attraction,
which we have both been drawn to;
and not having to wonder
if I have been electronically captured
for someone else’s amusement.
I do not want to be reprimanded,
by a sensor with a monotone voice
because I have detoured
off its chosen path.
I want the road
to be about the journey
with its endless possibilities,
of yet to be discovered wonderment.
Arriving is inevitable,
but until I reach the end,
I want to be free of your
tracking measures,
installed for my own safety,
I would rather take my chances,
on the open road.
~ Cristina Jill Mosqueda ~
