The Hutch

Is it pouring where your avatar is?
I know a kid who lost his legs
On the same stretch halfway
between Harrison and the Bronx.
40 years ago, ahead of seatbelt laws,
and apps that alerted us
of upcoming hazards.

How’s the visibility?
He careened into a guardrail
On an unfamiliar route,
slick like this morning’s roads
decades in front of phosphorescence
that can be seen no matter
what sort of weather rolls in.

Are you alert this morning?
This was back when driving drunk
was OK, or at least not so bad.
His trip home timed exactly to
your commute to work,
Maybe it makes a difference
whether you’re coming or going.

What about construction?
The Parkway, like Mario Kart,
is equipped with orange barrels
ready to cushion flips and rolls
into the cement construction barriers,
maybe offering one or two extra lives
to some escaping head-on impact.

Are you speeding?
It happened at the spot where there’s
a sharp turn near the two-way
gas station where the fake pine tree
satellite now broadcasts 360º crash videos
at the intersection that weather
and inexperience collide.

Does worry rank on a leaderboard?
Your first job after graduation
before your exam for med school.
20 minutes as the crow flies,
But a one-hour drive each way.
I counted your fingers and toes when you were born.
I count your legs when you come home each day.