Snowy Overlook

Cars settled in the pullout,

Most of them black and dusty,

An unkindness of ravens—

Collective nouns being, like

Almanac names for the moons,

Mostly hooey that sounds fun—

You in your own dusty black

Car, smallest and first one there,

Resenting the latecomers

To your snowy view of cliffs,

Against which the passengers

Now were posing for selfies—

You remembered once, when young,

You and some friends played a game

Inventing collective nouns—

Embarrassment of poets

Was your weak contribution.

Alone, now, in your car seat,

You might be more vehicle

Than human, Dorianne Laux’s

Lines in mind, I probably

Spent more time / in my car than

In any house I lived in—

Or maybe you were tenor,

Given such a vehicle.

Anyway, the unkindness

Had left while you reminisced.