At the Drive-in Movie

Karen McAferty Morris

at the drive-in movie
in our second-hand Ford Fairlane
parents in the front, three little kids in the back

we passed around a grocery-size paper bag
filled with home-popped popcorn
at the drive-in movie

a speaker dangled on a cranked-down window 
tinny dialogue next-to-your ear clear,
parents in the front, three little kids in the back

in the Appalachian summer dusk
riveted by the spectacle, we watched stories unfold
at the drive-in movie

the faraway figures shimmered large and bright 
inside infinite velvet curtains,
parents in the front, three little kids in the back

we watched drama and magic born of authentic artistry,
Shane and Sleeping Beauty, Forbidden Planet and Old Yeller
in our breath-warmed sanctuary at the drive-in movie,
three little kids, me the big sister, in the back

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Karen McAferty Morris
Karen McAferty Morris’ work, recognized for its “appeal to the senses, the intellect, and the imagination,” has appeared in The Louisville Review, Persimmon Tree, Canary, Humana Obscura, The Mackinaw, Rust & Moth, and Passager’s 2025 Poetry Contest issue. Her collections Elemental, Confluence, and Significance are national prize winners. Alpenglow was published in 2024. She is lucky enough to live on a bay in the Florida panhandle.