Dreamer

Driving north on US 19,
I threw my Toyota down a hillside
In Taylor County
Toward a low spot in the road,
When an elephantine semi
Was slap-dash hauling his load
Down the other side
Toward the self-same point
In time and space
And I spied a flock of doves
Frantically rising up in the air
In the path of the oncoming truck,
Fleeing as fast and desperately
As they might from and across the path
Of the diesel-powered leviathan.

And a vision caught my imagination
And I saw the driver's bug-eyed face behind the windshield,
Startled by the birds,
Losing what little control he had
And jerking the wheel and his load
Down, down into my path,
Leaving me no alternative
But to offer a half-whispered prayer
For a swift reconciliation
At the pearly gates above,
Like Elijah, on his final calling,
My coupe providing adequate representation
For his soaring chariot, flames and all.

But I, proven no prophet,
Escaped my daydream's foretelling
And continued directly on my home-bound journey
While the truck-driver continued on his southern path,
Both of us clutched safely in the hands of a benevolent Providence.