Pauletta Hansel: The Road

There is one patch of Route 15, just north

of what was home, where whatever weather is,

there is more of it—cloudburst, blizzard, smear

of sun that finds its way through needle eye

of mountain. You’ve pulled the tangled thread

of road with you this far. Go on. No one

waits, hand up to curtain listening for your

graveled turn. There’s only past throwing

its shadow on the lane that sends you back

toward what is gone. Your eyes will soon adjust.

When did you know it’s not enough

to carry splintered pieces underneath your skin?

Home is the place you must choose again.

Copyright Pauletta Hansel. Originally published in Sheila-Na-Gig Volume 5.2, Winter 2020

Pauletta Hansel’s eight poetry collections include Friend, Coal Town Photograph and Palindrome, winner of the 2017 Weatherford Award for best Appalachian poetry.