The Hunting Truck

At thirteen, I finally wanted to get Mom
a gift she would love, so I spent my allowance
on an ornamental wall fixture,
an orange face on a sun
that smiles and sings Oldies
when you push the round, little button on its nose.

It is music she grew up listening to
in a time before Vietnam,
It’s Now or Never on the radio
in her mom’s hunting truck,
going over bumps in the road,
no seatbelts, so fast
their heads hit the top
and both throw out hilarious laughter
in a way I have never seen.

"The Hunting Truck" first appeared in South 85 Journal.