if not today then tomorrow
you are driving a car
and have had too much to drink
you are rounding a turn
and realize
you are not going to make it
you feel the tires
as they leave the pavement
as they catch on the loose sand
you hear the others
some concern in their laughter
as you crank hard on the wheel
fight against gravity
and other laws of nature
with some luck
you get back onto the road
but are still going too fast
and begin to fishtail
you see the road clearly
through the side window
you think how strange it is
to be moving this quickly, but sideways
when you leave the road
for the second time
the crunch of car meeting ditch
throws you against the door
you see the telephone pole
as you are racing towards it
you think
"isn't this strange
having the time to wish i were dreaming"
you are wishing that you are dreaming
but wishing won't make it so
time and your car
stop forever
the sun beams down hard
the grass you have just passed over
begins to right itself
reaches up to the sun that is shining
and the rain it knows will fall
if not today
then tomorrow
Copyright© michael dennis/Pulp Press Book Publishers 1988