“Like I was suddenly some safer form of fire”
-Ada Limon
Parallel Mustangs revving at an intersection
Back and forth
Like a conversation
Between Neanderthals listing their kills
Around a campfire
in competition over the same mate.
Rrrrrrrrrrrr bison.
Rrrrrrrrrrrr mammoth.
Rrrrrrrrrrrrr saber tooth cat.
Even the moon is moved
To eavesdrop; she lingers, curling a ringlet
Of clouds around a finger
With a blush of coyness to her smile
Above these traffic lights glowing like the last embers
On a log in the fire.
One must appreciate these moments
When the decisions you’ve made
Seem perfectly adequate …
This modest front-wheel-drive Honda
Paid-off and broking-in
Pulled by a four-cylinder mule
Sowing the field of fiscal responsibility
Anonymously.
Just listen to how each Mustang
Exaggerating its importance
In shimmies and full-bodied shudders, in growls and grunts,
Needles jumping into red—
The red of energy, the red of arousal, the red of envy—
This tangible yearning for the license of a green light
To coerce tires from their comfortable beds;
To sneak out on a school day;
To feed furniture into the fireplace;
To spin and smoke;
To feel the adrenaline boost
Drifting past the limits of control
Into a stranger’s lane
***
Photo by Joel Filipe on Unsplash
