A Friend Of A Hum Poem by RIC BASTASA

tonight i am going home
i feel so alone as though i am living
inside a house with very thick
walls, i am
inside my car and as usual
i drive alone
for an hour passing uninhabited places
along the road
and then i hum an old song
that pleases me
and i realize this time that i have a companion
this hum which through time
has assumed another voice
separate
from mine
it sounds strange
deep, monotonous, husky, and
comforting like a lullaby of mother

it is a friend's voice
jibing with mine
inside the silence of this car