Incident On Highway 12, Saskatchewan 1977
INCIDENT ON HIGHWAY 12, SASKATCHEWAN 1977
Black ice early morning
I heard no radio warning
Truck coming east at sixty
Me heading west at seventy.
Closing at two hundred feet
Every second of my heartbeat,
Ten seconds from now we will meet
At a finish line : dead heat.
Black ice is always a surprise
Unseen with the eyes -
Begin to spin out of control
Drawn choking into that black hole.
Try to correct - impossible,
The surface of treachery’s invisible.
Aim for the ditch? Brake?
I can do nothing but slide as a snake.
Hold my breath to think -
He’ll be on me in a blink -
I slowly spiral into the oncoming fate -
He can do nothing but jack-knife it.
A voice shouts out loud for aid -
I’m afraid it’s my voice. God isn’t afraid.
At that moment I uncovered
What I’d once believed and covered :
The pretended atheist dropped
His child’s toy unwanted:
I suddenly outgrew it
In a slow-mo second split.
I missed the truck by a yard or so.
About one fiftieth of a second to go.
I see the trucker’s helpless face.
Still makes me shiver, can’t erase.
Copyright © Sidney Beck | Year Posted 2010
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment