Outback Truckers

Wheels turning, churning, fighting for a grip mud oozing, clinging, sucking for purchase rivers flooding their banks, water everywhere trucks fighting trying to get through and deliver their precious cargos that are desperately awaited sometimes gasoline or much needed machinery all depending on the driver to make it to them. Rugged terrain scorching hot, dust billowing rushing, rushing, thrusting ever onwards on the lookout for wandering kangaroo's hitting one can mean break down or overturning tyres overheating and engines grumbling break down out here and you are on your own stranded until you fix the problem some how. Massive extra wide loads, pain to get secure permits needed before you can travel limited to journeying only by night desperately trying to make pull in spot millions worth of cargo on board and still three hundred and sixty kilometres away from where you need to be. Outriders ahead telling you when it is safe to overtake that slow double trailer load all hell breaking loose if they tell you wrong stopping for pit stop and them going by might be a hundred kilometres before you can safely pass them once more narrow or low bridges to navigate. Will you ever get through before the Wet closes everything down for months on end risking the short cut praying it stays dry if you are wrong stranded wheel deep in mud tractors trying to pull you out, chains snapping digging frantically in terrible heat keeping eyes open for them dratted snakes, at last you are free Moving on only to get bogged down once more and the whole process starts all over again at last free and moving rapidly along the load must get through at all costs getting lost in the outback no fun as you search for a place to safely turn at last reaching where you are supposed to be. Dropping off life saving supplies and fuel you reload and set off to do it all again having to stop and re secure loose chains three blowouts to fix, pray you have no more you have used up all your spare tyres brakes ceasing overheating you grind to a stop sun blazing down as you fight to free them. All these perils and many more are your woes reputations on the line if you fail to deliver so you drive on trying to make up lost time family waiting, weeks since you last made it home one last load to go before the Wet halts all reaching your destination at long last finally turning for the welcome journey home. written 06/26/2014 contest Any Poem of The Week #10