Thick and deep brown mud
Still clings to the tires
Parked in front of this diner
As if they traveled that road yesterday
Not weeks before
A man in a long grey trench coat
Catches their attention
From their cluttered front seat
Radio and cherry light just out of sight
Headlines of terror
Have crowded the front page for weeks
But this particular reader is smiling
Almost delighted as the information soaks in
Sitting relaxed on this bench
As if a vacationer taking in the sites
But they know that just doesn’t happen here
His smiling eyes catch their gaze
And he seems frozen
Slowly raising that paper in front of himself
Something crashes and their attention is diverted
Only for a moment
To the clumsy moving men
But just long enough
For the traveler to make his escape