Driving after dark

We drive alone at night
behind headlights
that ply the roads
as if we could see
where we are going

as if we could see

those bright and narrow
shafts saying this
is where you will be
in a second this is
where you will be

saying the path is clear
and safe

while the deer hesitates
on the shoulder and
your eyelids weigh heavy and

that driver is drunk and
that driver is eating and
that driver is talking
to someone he loves

more than you

who will not make it
home tonight
whose headlights
or reflexes are not
this time sufficient you

who are plucked from that
dark sameness relieved
of the false confidence
you always knew it was

the flesh you no
longer need merged
with such beauty
such intricate beauty

into metal and
asphalt and
rubber as if

you always belonged
to the shining
bruised and burning
world as if

you were never
anything separate
at all

 

Tags: accidents, cars, creative writing, dark, death, driving, loss, poem, poetry, spirituality