Diane Wakoski and the Hitchhikers

Seeing the hitchhikers on the side of the road reminded Wakoski that she “once had what she wanted, and lost it.” She compares the relationship she is mourning to being trapped under her own good fortune, like a mountain of diamonds of being rendered immobile by being turned in to gold; someone who has everything they want but cannot realize it until it is too late.
Sometimes comfort and security can foster guilt. Her car separates her from the plight of the hitchhikers who rely on people like her to sacrifice some of their comfort zone. But her car is full of her own needs and regrets; she seems to need her space and guilt. Perhaps accepting a stranger into her comfort zone would symbolize moving past the past, which she is not ready for.