Which Way?

On no particular day, in no particular place,
Two strangers crossed paths in the street.
The girl was on her way to somewhere new,
The boy was lost, so it was fortunate they should meet.

Said the boy to the girl, address in hand,
“Do you know how to get from here to there?”
Said the girl to the boy, after reading the address,
“I do know how to get from here to there.”

She double-checked the address
And drew a map in her head.
When the path was complete,
She turned to the boy and said,

“You continue up Street A,
And then turn onto Street B-”
“Pardon me,” interrupted the boy,
“But which way onto Street B?”

‘Oh, dear,’ thought she, ‘which way indeed?’
She worried her lip; the question was such a bother.
Was it in the direction of the hand she wrote with,
Or was it, in fact, in the other?

Closing her eyes, she made the turn in her mind.
Then she opened her eyes and looked down at her hands:
It was in the direction of the one she wrote with,
And she finally took a stand.

“You turn right onto Street B,
And pass Diner 1, Gas Station 2, and Hotel 3.
When you come to the third light,
You have to make a turn onto Street C-”

“Which way onto Street C?”
Came the exasperated query.
She hesitated to answer, even though
She knew she was making him weary.

Again she pictured herself taking that path,
Letting her hands turn an imaginary wheel.
It was in the direction of the hand she didn’t write with,
Although she still couldn’t name it at will.

Embarrassed, she turned to her side
And, on both hands, extended her first finger and thumb.
It was in the direction of the one that made the shape of an ‘L,”
And at length she was able to answer, although she felt quite dumb.

“You turn left onto Street C,
And continue past Theater 4.
Once you pass that building,
Your destination will be on your...”

Once more she paused,
Confusion paining her sight.
“It will be on your left. Wait, no!
Yes. No! It will be on your right.”

Her stumbling directions complete,
He thanked her for her time,
And then presumably went off to find
Someone with reason, and not just rhyme.

When he was gone,
She let her frustration show.
Why it was so hard for her,
She just didn’t know.

Shrugging it off, she continued on her way.
Her eyes on her feet and the ground below,
She didn’t notice it until she was already there:
A fork in the road; now which way did she go?

She fretted for a moment, and then a light came on overhead.
Thrusting a hand into her pocket, she pulled out some paper and read:
“At the fork in the road, turn left; the garden is just out of sight.”
Relieved, she tucked the paper way, and promptly turned right.

*Author's note: This is slightly autobiographical; as silly as it is, I cannot tell right from left.