TRUCKER THOUGHTS
BY DRIVER/POET/ARTIST TREVOR HARDWICK
For this poem, I just started thinking of random phrases often heard in the trucking industry, at least from a driver’s stand point, then I just tied them all together and made it rhyme. When you’ve got a lot of time to stare out the windshield and just think of everything, or just nothing at all, you’d be surprised the things that come to mind. It can be stressful to worry too much about pay, or home or weight issues (I mean the weight of the truck - lol), but it can be fun to think of the next neat thing to do to the truck to jazz it up, or maybe about the plans you’ve got to hang out with loved ones when you get home. This picture was taken of me while I was driving home in my 1981 Freightliner cabover after I had just bought it. I’d like to think it looks like I was pondering my next poem but, realistically, I was probably just listening to the shakes, rattles and squeaks of my new baby. I hope you enjoy my “Random Thoughts That Rhyme” and can relate to them.
Random Thoughts That Rhyme
By Trevor Hardwick
Hurry up and wait,
Hurry up and wait.
How come every shipper’s got,
A rush-rush load of freight?
I wait in line to check-in,
I wait in line to load.
I wait in line to sign the bills,
Before I hit the road.
I think I’m overweight,
I think I’m overweight.
I wonder if the coops will close,
Before I leave the state.
Over on the front end,
Over on the drives.
Over on the trailer, too,
I can’t believe my eyes.
The price of cool ain’t cheap,
The price of cool ain’t cheap.
So run that semi hard, my friend,
Forget about the sleep.
I keep my tractor tidy,
I keep it up-to-snuff.
I keep my dashboard free of trash,
And all that other stuff.
I wonder what it pays,
I wonder what it pays.
I’ll get it there and likely sit,
Another couple days.
I’m runnin’ for the money,
I’m runnin’ for the fun.
I’m chasin’ down a dollar,
While I’m chasin’ down the sun.
Random thoughts that rhyme,
Random thoughts that rhyme.
This is how I occupy,
A lot of windshield time.