heading west

there was a time when it
was not unusual to hitchhike
across country,
or to a place just a few
miles down the road.
spare change or a few dollars
for shared gas.
it was a new world,
though mostly false,
a mirage,
a world of free
love and long hair,
underneath the giving
and open souls was the same
darkness that overtakes
so many
that walk the earth.
we'd stand at the side
of the road, thumbs out,
hair to our shoulders,
our sleeping bags
and small supplies rolled
beneath our skinny arms.
we were too young to know
much about the world.
we believed in the music,
the day glow art,
the spirited clichés
of that time,
the dancing, the beautiful
women who suddenly
appeared before you,
as if magic.