S.M. Kozubek
Sarasota, Florida, USA

Prodigal

I had lived with a rigid schedule of classes, homework and sports throughout high school. In college I was forced for the first time to allocate my own time and goals. This frightening new freedom left me feeling im- prisoned. I began missing classes and justified further absences by judg- ing my situation hopeless, which became a self-fulfilling prophesy. Soon, I began experimenting with alcohol and hashish.

after the stroke
shuffling to work
one foot after another

After my sophomore year I flew to Europe with three hundred dollars and a backpack containing only clothes and two books of poetry. I hitchhiked through England, Belgium, France, Germany, and Austria, sleeping in youth hostels, running out of money, and surviving on bread and cheese. Seven hundred miles later, I caught a flight in England and returned home. Completing college didn’t deem so difficult after that.

drill sergeant
a splash of ice water
in my face

Note: previously published in Prune Juice