My Fifth Trip to Washington Ended in Northeast Delaware

For CC—ring around Congress, June 1972.

Halfway between the rain and Washington
as we stopped
stuck in the middle of Delaware and a deluge
At least she said
as the muddy waters rose covering our good intentions
At least she said
as we sat stranded neither dry nor high enough
somewhere over a creek very busy becoming a river
somewhere in northeast Delaware
At least she said
as we waited for an engine
to tug us back to where we’d started from
and my son complained he could have had more fun
wrapped up in an envelope
At least she said
as the flooded-out tracks receded
and the waters rose around us
and the children fussed and fretted but were really
very brave about it
and the windows started to leak in on our shoes
and the gum and the games and the New York Times
and the chocolate bars and the toilet paper
all ran out
as the frozen fruit juice melted
and the mayonnaise in the tuna fish went sour
At least she said
as the rain kept falling down
and we couldn’t get through to Washington
as we slumped
damp and disappointed in our rumpled-up convictions
At least she said
The Indians Aren’t Attacking.