NaPoWriMo, Day Five: “Del Taco”

Del Taco

It’s January of 2021, a new year
of your newly frozen life,

and you’ve just learned
about the only Del Taco in Ohio.

It’s a few hours away, creased
into the slight hills and folds

of a nowhere town with a name
as lovely as it is mispronounced.

And you make the trip and it’s there,
stucco and new clean colors,

and you order your burrito, a side
of queso, and the bag is so warm

as you pull into a parking spot
to eat it in your car. And you open

the bag and eat the food and know
that it’s just fast food — and yet

even today you remember
how good it made you feel, borne

back to California sun and days
when you were not yet numb,

and you swear even now
that this fast food car meal

is one of the best moments
you’ve had in this forsaken winter

that’s lasted enough for Del Taco
to become common, new locations

open not far off, places you could go
but never do.

Thanks for reading! April is National Poetry Writing Month, and this year I’m writing and publishing a poem about food each day. My 2021, 2020, and 2019 NaPoWriMo poems (about GIFs, the Fast and Furious movies, and car insurance, respectively) are still live on Medium, so check out my profile if you want more.