{"id":2671,"date":"2020-11-10T01:13:33","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T08:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irenenorth.com\/writings\/?p=2671"},"modified":"2024-04-22T02:46:07","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T02:46:07","slug":"halfway-across-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/2020\/11\/10\/halfway-across-the-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Halfway across the country"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It was a bright and sunny day
\nwhen I climbed aboard the plan
\nUncle Bob had to leave his pocket knife behind
\nsecurity kept it safe for him
\nhis grandpa gave it to him when he was just a boy
\nhe wanted to walk to the gate with everyone else
\nto see me off this August day<\/p>\n

I found my seat and sat quietly
\nthe first step in my new journey
\nbuckled my seat belt and stared out the window
\nmy family was waving goodbye, but they couldn’t see me
\nI saw them standing at the window by the gate
\nI was ready to leave it all behind<\/p>\n

Halfway across the country
\nnew places, new faces, new life
\nand I desperately wanted to leave the nightmares behind<\/p>\n

The plane pushed away from the gate
\nUncle Bob got his knife back
\nfamily went about their day
\nI thought about the hug my grandma gave me
\nIt said, \u201cplease stay, but I understand you need to go.\u201d
\nI couldn’t stay in a place that was slowly killing me<\/p>\n

I like the feeling in the air
\nnothing below me
\nnothing holding me back
\nnothing to save me except myself<\/p>\n

I didn’t have a plan past the next four years
\nhalfway across the country
\nI’ll leave the nightmares behind
\nand begin my journey toward something new<\/p>\n

Final destination, Lincoln
\ntires skid on the tarmac
\nthe plane taxis to the gate
\nit’s journey has just ended
\nmine has just begun<\/p>\n

Backpack and duffel bag hold everything that is me
\nA New Yorker out of place
\nlots to learn and lots to see
\nNeihardt Hall, Love 1316
\nI drop my bags on my desk, open a Coke, take a swig
\nbreathe deeply, it’s silent for now<\/p>\n

Three Cokes later, I check out the bathroom
\nI don’t like the idea of sharing, I’ve had to share too much already
\nbut this new life requires sacrifices
\nhalfway across the country, I breathe deeply and try to clear my mind<\/p>\n

Names on the doors, up and down the hall
\nall Nebraska towns, but three
\nMe, Chicago, and Italy
\nI tense up, feel some fear, exhale slowly
\nit’s going to be all right here<\/p>\n

I meet the R.A., she makes insincere small talk
\nI want her to leave, but remember my manners
\nshe doesn’t really care, how I am, how the weather is,
\nor if I’m settling in okay
\nDon’t call yourself a fan if Stairway to Heave is the only song you know<\/p>\n

End of the day, there’s no one around
\nI drank the six-pack of warm Coke
\nnot the best thing in the heat, my stomach’s churning a little bit
\nfull of Coke and Burger King chicken sandwiches and fries<\/p>\n

I’m all alone again, it’s a familiar scene
\nplay out again, halfway across the country
\nthe silence is nice, I hope for a little peace<\/p>\n

Lie down, rest my head
\nstare at my Stairway poster, old man staring down on me
\nclose my eyes, try to sleep, for a little while
\nI’m all alone in this room, except for the nightmares
\nIt seems I brought them with me
\nhalfway across the country
\nthey’re here to stay, will hinder my journey
\nexhale slowly, I’m not sure if I’ll be all right
\nbut I’ll have to find a way to be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[91,254,285,377],"class_list":["post-2671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-college","tag-nebraska","tag-poetry","tag-trauma"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2671"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3638,"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2671\/revisions\/3638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irenenorth.com\/writings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}