Running Out of Road

 And I told him that I'm running out of road.
He asked if I was close to driving over the cliff.
I laughed and pushed harder on the gas pedal.
He squealed in terror, the big, strong man.

We were heading down toward the edge of eternity,
on the way to an old new life...
 or the end of this one.
I felt devil-may-care but he was uncertain.

The dust on the road was thick and sandy.
Tumbleweeds taunting as they flirt with the road.
Rhapsody in Blue filling the car.
He'd never heard it... isn't sure  it's road trip music.

If it wasn't for the revelation of the secret,
we'd still be stuck in the morass of expectations.
Finding the truth about betrayal has
set us free.

And we drove and drove...
looking for redemption.
Looking for the place where truth
always matters.

Looking for someone to trust.
Looking for a love that persists.
Looking for the home we never found.
Looking for a dream to come true.

He says we should take Route 66.
And stay at the Hotel California.
I fear that his mind has been broken.
Some folks can't take heart ache.

And we drove and drove...
looking for redemption.

The edge of the cliff is near now.
Do we go out like Thelma and Louise?
The big guy is not Brad Pitt,
neither is he dead.

I bring the car up to the brink,
and ask...Are you ready to meet your Maker?
The big guy cries and doesn't want to die.
Sighing, I U turn and
drive to the nearest town to drop him off.

I'll return to the precipice alone.
Because...
I drive and drive...
looking for redemption.

I drive and drive...
looking for redemption.

 I'm still looking.

 

 ©Ellen Pepper 2026