the good life

the green sign above the Missouri river says
Nebraska… the good life

each town feels counties apart
dotted with single story homes
a single blinking light
and a single silo of grain
taller than the empire state
Country Partners Cooperative: Together we can

the silo silhouettes in the rearview for an entire Coltrane track
the flat road perfectly parallel with the train tracks
tied across the land — connecting the dots — bringing the pieces together
Union Pacific: Building America

the train steams by
the white pick-up waves — then the red — then the blue
you finally wave back
…the good life

but half way through
the time falls back
as if the state is too big to hold
in one time zone
or in one idea
the Union Pacific turns left
away from the town
Ivy League Troll Slayers
graffitied on the last cart
Biden supports ethanol
written on the track home yard sign
how much further?
imagined across the still face of the brown Camry
who doesn’t wave
and when the motel receptionist asks
what brings you to town?
a man shifts in his black boots
and says his mother has just passed

there is no sign to say you are leaving Nebraska…
or the good life