Death on the road
We piled into the car
Caleb and Mom in front, me in the back
We weren't planning to go far
A nearby arboretum off the beaten track.
We went north, there were many cars each way
Saw a motorcycle downed, someone’s luck had failed
Amidst the empty southbound lane, there it lay
A journey interrupted, a life derailed
There was a police car, yellow tape and debris
Turned out the driver was badly hurt, but not dead
Still, I couldn't shake the vision when we walked among the trees
Of his narrowed future in a hospital bed
I read up on him later, a harried man in much debt
How it all happened, nobody quite knows
They've cleaned it all up, how soon we forget
How in an instant, so many doors can close
We walked the boardwalk through maples and pines
My family smiled; Mom was proud she could do it all
I couldn't shake the subtext between the lines.
So many differences before and after that fall.
Twenty walkers a day died last year; a fate not deserved
The drivers must feel guilt that can’t be shed
My brother’s friend tried a U-turn but another car swerved
His fiancé was hit, said “Goodbye “and was dead.
Too many have departed on the roads we travel through
Last year 6000 motorcyclists lives abruptly ended
42000 car drivers met their last rendezvous
And as we all know, death can’t be mended.
I visited the parents of a Christian friend
They impressed me as warm and kind
Then I heard that while driving they met their end
He was too old; he didn’t react in time.
I hope human innovation can solve the problems it creates
Perhaps the answer is the self-driving car
It's hard to give up control, but sudden danger waits
We don't need more reminders of how fragile we are.
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