Beat up pick-up truck
with fading paint
carrying pieces of most of my life

my son's car seat
crumbs from his cookies

mud from the marsh
where I did my dissertation
rocks left over

from the mountains and deserts
of Texas' Hill Country

and Southern New Mexico
collected for children's
museums

to take a ride
on the Magic School Bus

pine needles from trees
in my yard, pebbles
and sand, peat and bark mulch

for sand boxes, flower beds
and levelling the porch

our chocolate lab's collar
hanging from my rear-view mirror
his nose prints and scratches

adorning the windshield
and dash