12 HOURS FROM AN AIRBNB IN TEXAS

We didn’t know that when we drove into New Mexico
that we would fall into it. When I rolled down the window
& felt the rush of spiritwind roll past I had no choice
but to shove my head into the sky and plummet
into stars. Which spectre of light is Mom and which is for the dog
I had as a child? We pulled over & let the night envelope
our bodies & suddenly I understood it. How each moment is a star
spun into the sky. I can touch each particlized molecule like Jon’s hand
beside me & Lady’s nose in the backseat. We stood there, entrapped by
G-d & coyotes & unseen bodies, until we had to join the road again—
& for the first time we became a part of the spectral lights ahead of us too

Laura Ohlmann is an MFA candidate at the University of Central Florida. Her work has appeared in Honey&Lime, South Florida Poetry Journal, and was an honorable mention in 2016 Wild Ekphrastic Poetry Contest. She enjoys sleeping in her converted Honda Element and biking up mountains with her partner and dog.