Stateside, 1980s

Stateside, 1980s

First time across the border

Into the land of TV cops and GI Joe

I want to kiss her in the backseat

But her father drives, brother sits between us

“Hello sir. You all Canadian? Have a nice trip.”

Passportless, he waves us through

Real rifle on the wall at the corner store

Real Butterfinger, Mounds, Almond Joy

As I count she yells

“Don’t give me no damn Canadian change!”

Startled, I drop beavers, moose, maple leaves

And break the Washington dollar I had planned to save

Lunch in Elmo’s Game Barn, moose steaks and lobster

Cordon Bleu chef in Riviera summers

Hunter in Maine falls

“I thought It’d be different” I say to her father

“You expect leaves would turn into Washington dollar bills?”

Stateside, 1990s

First time adult across the border

Into the land of LA riots and Iraqi Freedom

I want to change the station

But I am licenseless, so he drives and decides

“Hello sirs, you Canadian? Why are you passing through?”

Our passports disappear into the booth, then return

Real pistols at their hips

Real dogs and SMGs on cords

As we sit he asks

“You ever consume any illicit substances?”

We exude a moment of Canadian arctic silence

Like after asking fish how they like water

Lunch in IHOP, Stuffed French Toast

Stuffed until we burst

Bottomless coffee, Coke in larger cans

“This place is so different

Do we leave a tip, is a Washington dollar enough?”

Stateside, 2000s

First time crossing the states

Across the lands of hoodoos and desert Greek cafes

She kisses my cheek as I drive

Two months ago I arrived

“Aloha, welcome. Open your bag, please.

Driving across? Have a good time, bro.”

Real mooks and tittas and howleys

Real OC students and celebrity agent pool parties

Real iron poisoning in Utah

Radio warns us of violent Salt Lake gangs

Who attack anyone they see

Smoking, spitting, or kissing in the street

Lunch in a Detroit trucker buffet

Our 69 Beetle dwarfed by 18 wheelers from New Jersey

Our bodies dwarfed by 7 foot truckers from Alabama

“I feel like I’m back in Canada already.” As I pay he says

“That old Washington dollar? You should have saved it.”