Speed 50. by Jon Bennett

“Where ya going?”

“Bandon. This isn’t how

I thought I’d spend

my 50th birthday,” she said.

Coming down off speed, toothless

and stinking

I regretted picking her up.

“Sorry if I stink,” she said.

“You don’t stink,” I said.

“Thank you,” she said

and then nodded off.

I passed a sign,

‘Speed 50’

and thought it was ironic

but I didn’t

mention it

or that ‘Bandon’

was like “abandon”

without even

an ‘a.’

Jon Bennett writes and plays music in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood.  You can find more of his work on Pandora and Spotify or by connecting with him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jon.bennett.967.