Photo by Patrick Schiele on Unsplash
Night driving.
Traffic jams.
Waiting for my green light.
Dry mouthed,
Pulsing with
Energy.
But my foot stays
On the brake.
Globes of light
Against indigo sky,
Provide just enough
Light to show me the
Road. But smaller globes,
All encompassing,
And fast approaching,
Steer my eyes.
White knuckles as I
Try
To stay in my lane.
It’s all too easy
To let my wheels slide.
But I need to reach my destination.
Road directory,
Traced and dog-eared,
Sits in the passenger seat.
I can’t pause to look at it.
The other cars push me
Forward.
White lines and streetlights
Don’t shine as bright
As a starry sky.
A welcome sight
On a stop-start journey.
I feel at peace.
A shrieking horn.
Two blinding headlights.
I swerve just in time to miss.
Cars are still moving.
My destination still waits.
I clench to suppress
The chilling thrill
Of something that shook me.
In the warm, cramped
Cabin of my car,
I’m pulsing with energy
But sitting still.
No closer to my destination.
No closer to being on time.
Cars around me stop. I slam
On the brakes.
Where my foot stays.
Waiting for a green light.