car sleeping in the rain

did i ever tell you about my
rocket ship? it smelled like
cigarettes & it lived in a wendies parking lot
across from a redners & across from
a daycare where the children would scream
like confetti. i slept in the back seat
which was never quite enough room.
still, i liked to curl up. pretend i was
returning from a trip to the moon
or from my grandmother's. i loved
the long drives especially when
my mom was at the wheel. she was better
at radio spinning & opening windows
& games. i had a tiny moon roof
in my car. i cracked it halfway
when the rain came. made 
impressionist paintings of the neon store lights. 
i wanted so badly to be on my way somewhere.
instead, my car was still. lingered
even as the parking lot emptied. i was 
always afraid someone would come
& tell me to leave. where would i go?
this was the last stop on a journey
to the next star. no turning back. 
when i felt especially wild, i would crack 
the front window just to stick my hand out
& feel the rain. i acted as if i had never
witnessed the sky break open before.
all my senses were different when i lived
in the rocket ship. i lingered on the taste
of pink bubblegum when i bought a pack
& chewed the whole thing. rubbed my fingers
across the floor carpet to feel the softness. 
when it came time to get up & go,
i turned the engine on. sunlight sweeping away
the clouds. droplets on the windshield. 
each one with a little rainbow on its shoulders.