← Back to the archive
Visual interpretation of "Off the Avenue": Oh, how I wished I could have been driving; Straight to you, on the long highway

No. 102

March 20, 2025·13 lines·1 min read

Off the Avenue

after closing time.

Oh, how I wished I could have been driving Straight to you, on the long highway On those lonely, dark nights after closing time. But you held my hand With your voice: A whispered choice—you don't need to stop At those old haunts, not even in the snow. And somehow I believed, as I sped Past them—a blurred isolation— That I could sprinkle neon stars across The purple twilight in your backyard Off the Avenue.

Checking who has held this poem...

Part of your record in the archive.

Sign in if you want your name to stay with the record.

Keep this one close.

Saved on this device. Sign in below to keep it across devices.

Sign in to keep your shelf across devices.

Send the line onward, save the story image, or pass the poem to someone who needs it.

Share on XPinterest image

 

Sign in if you want shares and story actions to carry your name in the archive record.

If this poem stayed with you, the next one will find you.

A quieter way to stay close to the work. One poem at a time.

Delivered by Substack.

Hear the poem in one breath.

A studio reading for the archive, voiced with care and restraint.

Studio reading
Off the Avenue0:00 / 0:31
Read the original post on Instagram3 likes on Instagram3 comments
Part of a living collection since September 2024.

A way further in

Not the final meaning. Just a closer read, a better question, and a few nearby poems worth opening next.

LoveSelfhoodLonging

Best met slowly, especially when you are reading in the hours meant for sleep.

Stay in the archive a little longer.

If this one stayed with you, keep it. Then either leave a note, keep moving through the archive, or ask the Studio where to go next.

Notes for Collection No. 102

A guestbook for the poem itself. Leave a response, an image prompt, or an image link if it belongs in the same room.

Oh, how I wished I could have been driving

A good note starts where the poem stayed with you.

Loading notes...

Every note becomes part of the room's memory.

Say what stayed with you, what it opened up, or what line you are carrying out of the room.

Sign in if you want the room to remember your name.

The reading room

Loading notes...