We Drive Past The Madisonville Buc-ee’s On Our Way To Denton

Justin Carter

February 1, 2026

We eschew the bright lights for something more primal—

an Exxon near Buffalo, the same one

that the Greyhound stopped that first winter

I was away: temporary migration

from the flatness of Ohio back

to the flatness of the coast—

two versions of the same thing,

two imperfect homes.

I used to sit on my grandmother’s back step

& watch a flock of birds

land amidst the cattle & fallen trees:

dark mass descending through the air.

If I believed in omens—

well, I tend to avoid speculation.

Now we hurtle back north in winter—

reverse trek to a college town

where we felt more right than anywhere else,

the beauty of being—for a while,

at least—a fixture in a revolving world,

old faces, new faces, new faces, new faces.

Justin Carter is the author of Brazos (Belle Point Press, 2024). He holds degrees from the University of Houston, Bowling Green State University, and the University of North Texas. Originally from the Texas Gulf Coast, Justin currently lives in Iowa and works as a sports writer and editor.