Road Trip

Today, I leave    
For a fifteen hour drive  
From here to there  
To visit my best man, a friend  
   
When young we shared a small room  
Barely fit bunk beds in there  
We laughed ourselves to sleep  
Older we shared a college room  
A simple mobile home  
A place of joy  
   
My oldest plans to come along  
My wife, has appointments  
So she may stay home  
But I'm still hoping she will come  
To say hello and goodbye    
   
We plan to stay a day, then trudge back  
A long trip, a lifetime to get here  
What to say, how to behave  
With one with a sentence  
   
Now I know what palliative care is  
It is different from curative  
And it is different from hospice  
Which my mom had and ended while I was holding her hand  
Sharing a verse  
Wish I didn't know about palliative care  
   
Later today, we gather  
To start a road trip  
That was 59 yrs in the making  
Beginning before I