Standing by the side of the interstate
I see the traffic, signs of our active
economy.
Semi drivers draggin’
the line from DFW, Abilene, and
points east; toward Midland,
Odessa, El Paso and places
with fewer murders.
Swiftly passing here – in the midst
of nowhere, eight out of ten
are trucks, most 18-wheelers
dragging all manner of trailers,
some rides with goosenecks
for smaller loads, others following
piggy-backed FedEx loads
doing seventy, noisy diesel engines,
flatbeds full and west-bound,
empty east-bound to fetch more
Permian Basin bound oilfield
supplies, and back again.
Moving trailer homes and machinery
and all manner of truckable
paraphernalia by employed
truck drivers. Most cars and SUVs
are a minor nuisance
in the weekday world
of transportation work.
And all this wild panic seen
from three amazing minutes
standing near the side of the road.
Look both ways up and down the arteries of commerce.
Mind the gaps. They fill rapidly.
Our Literary Journey 
I spent two weeks standing along the PA Turnpike drilling samples to put a new cradle wall in. I was definitely a source of bemusement to the truckers who honked and waved at the gal in her insulated coveralls.
This was in November 1990. They didn’t replace the cradle wall until 23 years passed.
of course, being a child of the 70s/80s, I couldn’t help but think of “East Bound and Down” when I read your poem.
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And then there’s “Draggin’ The Line” a Tommy James tune.
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I can almost hear the traffic and smell the fumes! Great descriptive poem.
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Thanks, Sue. I walked there almost every day for two weeks. Trucks dominated. It was zoom, zoom, zoom.
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I am happy to report that I see no cars, trucks or traffic of any kind on my walks in the country, just deer and wild turkeys hogging the trail🤣
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