*True Story
I’ve had many instances of divine intervention in my life
But, this one stands out in my mind forever
It was a snowy day, only a few inches had fallen
I went with a friend in a van to a store
I was driving slowly, when suddenly I saw…
A car spinning out of control ahead of me
It re-bounded off the guardrail on my side of the road
Then it came straight at us with alarming speed
I slowly stepped on the brakes, to not spin out too
I had stopped right on the yellow line, avoiding the other lane
The other driver slammed into the right front corner of the van
The van was totaled, but we only had minor injuries, including him
The next day I was at the rental car business for a car to drive
A woman was talking to the customer service person at the counter
She was saying, someone with my plates had saved her husband’s life
If I had not been there to stop him, he would have gone off the cliff
I told her, that is me and she thankfully hugged me in tears!
Heidi Sands
5/24/22
Placed 10th in The Divine Intervention Contest. Sponsor: Chantelle Anne Cooke
Categories:
guardrail, life, miracle,
Form: Free verse
I am the American worker
coal fired for refined thieves
on the thirty first floor.
My secrets rest
roadside beyond the guardrail
where ditched alleys
lead to rowhouses.
A list of porches
repeating to each other
the economics of wear.
My secrets shuffle
moon-side with motors
in gear.
A scourge of trucks
that drone and stab the night.
My dignified rails drive
mountain passes, but fade
in stories written backwards.
I belong to the wheels
whipping the black spell
of trains.
The scuff strummin' Guthries
and Union Maids,
Debs,
Robeson,
The destination of all trains;
Railroad Bill.
I am the American worker
searching the seasons
for decent belongings,
secret rhythms
last whistles,
Mt tempered
native steel.
Published Black Buzzard Press - 1982
Categories:
guardrail, allusion, america, eulogy, extended
Form: Political Verse
Lately he sits on the guardrail every day
Looking as if his life has gone astray
Not asking for anything, watching traffic go by
Touching his long gray beard, looking at the sky
It may be time to ask him what he may need
Somehow bring a smile, plant some kind of seed
Or maybe this is all he needs right now
To sit where he does, ponder life, to find a way somehow
My heart still goes out to the man on the guardrail
Looking forlorn, yet he finds a way to prevail
Heidi Sands
9/9/19
Categories:
guardrail, endurance, giving, lost,
Form: Rhyme
At first he drank to be one of the boys
To act a bit rowdy, to make some noise
He couldn't resist all the teen peer pressure
Just couldn't say 'No;' had to say 'Yes sir'
Off to college he went to the land of beer tents
Where drinking's the pastime of well-educated gents
Our hero could be found, where pop-tops did sound
Stumbling drunkenly around, or face down on the ground
Armed with a degree, into the world of business he marched
Just like in college, he found his throat dry and parched
At midday he made time to imbibe a liquid lunch
From Monday to Friday, he dipped his cup in the pun
One rain-pouring day, he wobbled to his car
Jumped on the freeway, to fight the rush-hour war
Only this time, reflexes, lulled to sleep by drink
He drove into the guardrail, and his life went 'clink'
His family and friends feigned surprise at the news
They didn't believe what you can lose when you booze...
Categories:
guardrail, abuse, culture, drink, loss,
Form: Narrative
sweet candy used to be a friend of mine
sour mold is now the enemy i fall for
the air is so cold down here
i am impervious to dying
the well is now dry here
for some reason i keep on going
maybe it is what my mother told me about faith before colon cancer claimed its next victim
perhaps that faith is the guardrail i have been invisibly holding on to all this time
this faith....it is my umbrella in any level of rain
then again, it is sort of like my protective coating for the vulnerable skin of my obvious underconfidence
i always accept every offer when the door knocks....wherever i am....
sour mold used to be the enemy i fall for
sweet candy is now a friend of mine
Categories:
guardrail, faith, inspiration, mentor, mother,
Form: Free verse
Spray painted on the bridge guardrail
The words "Two Feathers is pok li la..."
Past and the present meet by the river
The old ways remembered by the young.
Two Feathers in an "upstream man"
Tribes of the mother river, the Klamath
Nurturing their spirit and feeding the body
Through the ages as it runs to the sea..
Hupa, Yurok and Kurok tribes have lived for thousands of years along the beautiful
Klamath River in northern California.
For Deb's contest.
Categories:
guardrail, history, life, people,
Form: Free verse
I reach for the mayo last night
Too late I realize it’s not right
Out of the fridge door
And onto the floor
The lid was placed on, but not tight
I like to spread jam on my toast
One thing irritates me the most
In the jam jar I find
Food debris left behind
Clean your knife between jars, that’s gross
While driving the highway we sail
But something I see without fail
Blinkers flashing for miles
And I think all the while
Are they turning into the guardrail?
Categories:
guardrail, people,
Form: Limerick
The Docent at the Zoo
The docent in the peach cloche hat
leads the rest of us
around the rhino into better light.
She leads us to the guardrail
at the supper hour to watch
the keeper reach inside
the large glass case.
The docent wants us all to see the rat
delight the python.
Donal Mahoney
Categories:
guardrail, animals
Form: Free verse
Peach Cloche Hat
At the zoo
the lady in the peach cloche hat
leads the rest of us
around the rhino into better light.
She leads us to the guardrail
at the dinner hour
to watch
the keeper reach inside
the large glass case.
She wants us all
to see the rat
delight the python.
Donal Mahoney
Categories:
guardrail, animals
Form: Free verse
At the Zoo
The lady in the peach cloche hat
leads the rest of us
around the rhino into better light.
She leads us to the guardrail
at the supper hour to watch
the keeper reach inside
the large glass case.
She wants us all to watch the rat
delight the python.
Donal Mahoney
Categories:
guardrail, natural disasters
Form: Free verse