Our family has been captive in a car for twelve hours.
Southbound from a summer's perfect week in Maine,
we've each undergone several rounds of unspooling.
Our speedometer registers our deceleration—
our torsos bend and sway from the familiar turns home.
This trip, we have no strollers or coolers, no booster seats, toys.
We scale the driveway; I goad us to unpack in under ten minutes.
They scoff at me, but I am serious.
"Six Fifty Two, Forty seconds!" I cry. "Let's go!"
He parks, engages the E-brake; I duck and roll to action.
By the time he cuts the engine, the tailgate is yawning open.
Hoist hefty duffels, two, three at a time, over my shoulder.
I dump them in the mud room, then double back, and again.
Pry open doors; evacuate the passenger rows
of empty seltzer cans and dubious trash.
Discard fruit peels and Starbucks detritus.
I check my watch, take a proof shot:
6:56:42 P.M. ET— the car is completely empty.
The car is clean; the trip is over.
A family record — I've achieved glory.
"I WIN!" I screech.
Loved ones roll eyes in tandem.
A somber air lurks behind my victory;
as my trunk shuts, so too does Summer wane.
I empty groaning trash bags into the awaiting washing machine
so that, unlike my compliant luggage,
the swim club closure, and the pull of school and autumn
— and its moldy leaves, sluggish mornings, too soon, too dark evenings —
stay far from reach.
2026 Poetry Challenge - Generational - Generational - Humor - Insufferable - Of Place - Petty - Poems - Pun-y / Tongue-in-Cheek - Travel - Unserious
