LOST IN TIME

by Emily Black


Eight months pregnant and 22-years-old,
I walk on the graveled edge of a two
lane coastal road not highly traveled

in those days. I am wearing a royal-blue
romper suit. It’s my beach attire. My young
skin is lightly tanned and my hair glorious,

glorious in the morning sun, thick
and shiny in the way only pregnancy
can bestow. I am walking all alone,

cherishing my aloneness. My then-husband
has left me to myself and gone to the racetrack
in Daytona. I am walking to a little diner

that looks like a chrome-trimmed train car.
It’s on the inland side of the road, shaded
by wind-sculpted scrub oaks.

At the diner, in a shiny-red plastic booth, 
I order a glass of water, scrambled eggs,
toast and hash browns, today’s special.

I daydream about my baby and wonder
how I got to this place in life so soon. I’d
planned to travel and explore the world.

This little beachside spot is about a two hour
drive from home. Well, I think, it’s different
here and I can imagine I’m even farther away.


* * * * *

Emily Black, the second woman to graduate in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida, enjoyed a long engineering career, and in time, blended that with a career as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine. She is published in numerous journals. Her first poetry book, The Lemon Light of Morning, was published by Bambaz press in 2022 and her second poetry book, We Feed Dragons to the Moon, by the same publisher in March 2024.