She packs the last few trinkets
into a brown cardboard box,
then tapes it shut.
One last look out the window
is followed by footsteps
shuffling down the hall’s
wooden floor.
Her dad peeks in and offers
a “Ready to go?”
She nods, then picks up her box
and trudges out the door.
With little fanfare
she’s soon behind the wheel
of a Toyota pickup truck
motoring down I-84.
Mile markers sail past
as she crosses the border
into New York, a wider world
awaiting her unknown future
while “Tin Man” plays
on the radio.
