Driving on the M6 on a clear night with a dying phone

There is a point on the M6 between junctions 33 and 32
where the 12 mile stretch opens into the ink black night
and you’re driving through constellations of LED headlights.

The stars out of your window become the beacons
that over-caffeinated drivers navigate by,
like argonauts sailing by moonlight.

Fleetwood Mac flows through the car as the light
from your phone tucked into the cupholder ebbs away,
your partner’s voice dies, and you’re left alone in the dark.

And as you get closer to end of the midnight stretch.
you wonder if you’re about to drive off a cliff in the dark,
and end up swimming in the void of starlight.

By Emily Buckley

Biography:

Emily is an English Literature and Creative Writing undergraduate student at Lancaster University, and a passionate poetry student taking classes with Eoghan Walls and Paul Farley. She has been featured in Flash Literary Journal, and won second place in their 2020 Freshers Writing Competition with her hybrid piece She Stood on the Doorstep. Originally from Manchester, Emily’s poetry focuses on sexuality, religion, and chronic illness.