After the teacher asked if anyone had
a sacred place
and the students fidgeted and shrank
in their chairs, the most serious of them all
said it was his car,
being in it alone, his tape deck playing
things he'd chosen, and others knew the truth
had been spoken
and began speaking about their rooms,
their hiding places, but the car kept coming up,
the car in motion,
music filling it, and sometimes one other person
who understood the bright altar of the dashboard
and how far away
a car could take him from the need
to speak, or to answer, the key
in having a key
and putting it in, and going.
Stephen Dunn
Edited to add: I love this poem. It's so simple and true. It's my favorite from the book of travel poetry that I got for $1.50 in NYC! Since I left home last August, the one thing that I'm most nostalgic about is the time I spent alone in my car on the endless roads of Delhi. I never imagined I would think about it so much, but somehow the images of the roads I frequented haunt me. Yes, my car was my sacred place, too. I haven't talked about this with my family, but I often worry if I'll have anything to drive when I go back for the summer. They sold the car I used to drive when I left Delhi (it was in a very bad condition, for no fault of mine), and I'm not sure if I'll have a car all to myself...
Oh also, what are your sacred places?
Friday, March 14, 2008
The Sacred
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2 comments:
not sure if I really have a "real" sacred place as such, but car...yes, I can agree that there is a good bit of attachment.
When I started my second job, my parents got me a new car because my brother and I can no longer share one as my new job was 40 miles away. I drove 30,000 miles on that car in one year. I met Hacker that year and we spent hours and hours driving around in that car. I lived in that car. I started at 7 in the morning when I left for work (on one end of the city...actually a different city altogether), then I would drive all the way to the city (for MBA - evening courses and Hacker), and then I would finally get back home (somewhere in between work and univ) after 10 PM. In between, I would drive at least 100 miles a day.
I loved that one year...I loved my car. I no longer have the car or the commute. I miss it :-(
Well, the commute you can do without - and now you have the Hacker at home, which is even better :)
The beautiful memories of the "sacred" car, and that year will have to suffice I guess..
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