chicken in five miles

it used

to be that the billboards

on the side 

of the road

told

you where to eat.

you'd be in the car

for ten minutes

heading to the beach

and you'd see

the first sign.

a giant painting of an entire

family happily eating

chicken legs.

five miles ahead,

Dave's Fried Chicken.

then

three miles,

the same sign,

then two, then one,

then you're here.

pull in.

we didn't have cell phones

back then,

so we were totally

dependent on these large

giant signs

instructing us on the best

stops to eat

chicken, or pancakes,

or Salisbury steaks,

or to get an

ice-cream treat.

but sometimes you just

had to use

the bathroom.