Brilliant lances of sunlight speared through the tree cover,

The smooth roar of the engine reverberated throughout the car,

And I was in the driver’s seat,

I was feeling rather sporty,

Going down the road at forty,

The road wound high above the valley, 

Twisting and turning westbound,

The rising sun illuminated gentle mists at the highest rises and peaks,

Painting them in a cascade of oranges,

I could see it from where I drove,

But here there were blues and greens,

Gentle streams and ancient trees,

All streaks as I flew down the road,

Humming along to the radio I didn’t notice my descent into the valley,

Deep in the valley, the dank chill sank into my bones,

It was darker here too, the sun's rays could not reach the depths,

The wisps of mist grew into banks of fog that blanketed the valley,

Maybe I should take a break, wait for the path to clear?

I checked my watch, its ticking face warned me,

I was late,

Nothing to do I guess, I drove into the fog. . . 

And the world turned white,

Ghostly branches reached out through the emptiness, 

I shivered, maybe I should have waited,

I couldn’t see more than a car length ahead.

But light shone at the end of the road,

The valley must have been shorter than I thought,

Too late, I realized, why were the lights red?

The dark figure of a van emerged from the wall of fog, 

Every leering edge illuminated by the red of its brake lights,

Too late, I slammed on my brakes,

Too late, I saw the fallen tree on the road,

Too late, I checked my speedometer,

Each shining speck hung in the air, 

Reflecting the crimson lights, blinding me

I jerked my wheel,

Furiously the car responded dragging me left,

But then, I slid front then back, the world span around me,

Lights, then shadow, light, then shadow, light and shapes lurking at the edge of the road light, and then darkness,

I crashed into a great oak, 

The car crumpled like a solitary sheet of paper, shrieking and crying out

I was flung like a doll tossed by some petty god,

Pulled this way and that, yet tethered and restrained by the belts binding me to the seat,

Then crack, my head struck something, hard, blinding spots flashed and danced in my vision before it all caved into darkness,

 

I woke, 

More lights shined at me, this time affixed to the ceiling,

Where was I?

I began to sit up, but a thousand fiery needles in my chest forced me hard back to the bed cushions,

I’ll wait, I thought, then the darkness returned,

I awoke again, this time surrounded by myriad faces of family and friends,

But it was all too loud, I surrendered to the darkness once more,

It stayed this way for days, eventually, I returned home and life began again,

But they didn’t understand, I wouldn’t, couldn’t control one of those machines ever again,

Until two months later,

 

The car door slammed shut

trapping me, I couldn’t do this, not again,

The wheel judged me from the dashboard,

All I could think of was that tree,

The car rushing toward-

 

No,

I felt the assuring brake under my foot,

Just go slow, 

The engine began to cough and spray soot,

Stay calm, that’s what they said

But I couldn’t control this beast,

I knew I would end up dead,

 

No,

Don’t think about it,

Just go slow,

Don’t drive into the pit,

No missed that one tree,

Shattered and broken-

Why couldn’t I see?

My wrist ached, a token,

It’s just some fog,

So I told myself,

Just stay sharp and watch out for a log,

Put your emotions on a shelf,

I felt like a cog,

Some minuscule piece in a universal riddle,

But what if I hit a dog, or a frog, or a hog?

What if someone’s on a jog?

Could I dodge the bog?

Could an engine clog?

 

No,

Keep to the middle,

Just go slow,

I was on the road,

I was okay,

Traffic flowed,

Silver streaks on the black stretch in the light of the day,

Like a needle through thread, I rode,