MINUTE

Driving down the road

My brother says something

Can’t remember what

But I respond back

Rolling my eyes

“It’s just a minute.”

We continue down the road

The stoplight is out

I have to turn left

Oh crud

I look left and right

Cars are all around me

Like sharks surrounding

A shipwrecked boat

Cars leak from the right like

Blood from a wound

It seems it’ll never stop

Then a truck lets the car in front of me go

I’m tired of waiting

So I hit the gas

I speed forward

The truck starts to go

(People are wrong

When bad things happen

They don’t slow down

They speed up)

All I see is the front hood of the truck

I remember my brothers are in the car

I remember I have to be responsible

Have to protect them

Even though I’m scared

Still a little girl at heart

I slam the gas and swerve around

The truck lays on its horn

I barely get by

My heart speeds up

Violently hits against my chest

Like a bird trying to escape a room

I look at my brother

“It’s just a minute.”

That’s all I hear

But that’s not the truth

It’s not just a minute

It’s the difference between

Life and death

Old and young

Me and you.

A true story from just yesterday.