'Driving Equivalent of Prom,' Ep. 34

Episode 34: Celebrating AZ

Julie introduces us to “Arizona’s Best Export,” Make-A-Wish, then Lisa takes us on Schnebly Hill Road in a way most people haven’t been.

Mug: Sedona, AZ

Lisa reads an excerpt from an email from Chad Stiller:

“Jason Boland is at his best in my opinion with vignette songs that boil a certain perspective, feeling, or persona down to its most accessible. Songs that tell stories - no question I remain a sucker for those. Here're a few favorites that line up to tell their stories like drunks in a roadside bar with sawdust on the floor and last night’s smoke still in the air.”

Used with permission

Prayed Up

by Julie Morrison

Some may pray 

angel wing rhapsodies,

fine and ascending stanzas

before Amen.

Others offer devotion, 

viscous as hummingbird nectar,

selfless intent glinting off

the bright flash of a throat

diving into new blossoms.

Some may pray butterflies,

the rocky profundity and continental scale

of metamorphosis they crave,

weightless in their wings.

I love moth prayers best—

common doubts released

from gnawing on self-important fears

to hover, climb,

seeking ever brighter light,

undeterred by distance or scope,

round and ordinary—

unrelenting—

as folded hands.

Copyright 2025 Julie Morrison, All rights reserved