The sun casts a blue shimmer
On the oil slicked street
Lined with skinny, green trees
And pedestrians on the sidewalk
It is on the hot, sticky roadway
Where brakes screech
And metal collides with
Metal and the end result
Is all arms and legs akimbo
Out the doors and through
The windows.
More than four cars in this jumble
He guns it in reverse and screeches
Away from the accident scene
He has unwittingly caused again
Through the smoke-filled
Exhaust of fumy haze he hears
A child scream “mamma”
He is too drunk to understand
And thinks that it is the radio
He throttles on, bottle in hand
Impervious to the suffering
Behind him.
Still, the child screams “mamma”
Over the din of sirens and the
“Kaboom!” of the explosion
As it rocks the earth
Cratering the once peaceful
Intersection of motorists
Calmly going to the park,
Cinema, shops, and work
The explosion drowns the
Child’s cries.
All that is heard is sirens
And screams amongst the
Carcasses of cars blown
Hither and yon with nothing left
But the bright blue van stuck
Smack-dab in the middle of
The intersection.
