Limits and Liabilities
A green wagon late model
that carried her in the lanes
couldn’t stop the bus either.
When three bodies cratered up on the bank
& public pure-white sheets
covered over on slate gray asphalt,
did she drive wrong? A mangled hub cap
from her frame shimmied while another car
with blinkers danced across the lines
her four pads of fingernails trapped
in the crackle of glass through
blood metal. Morning dew light
made magical mirror out of bumper
& panel. She semi groaned when
the damaged door caved on her
like a noiseless tongue wagging down memories.
The sound of red sirens hailed her.
She lay here, waiting
her labors in everything:
perhaps a child’s toy & blanket
torn apart like a utility bill
I want her to walk again,
to dance on floors,
to be twirled by notes
that would rock her like two-step
but she only laid in a gasoline pool
like a rare & tender chair
10 thoughts on "Limits and Liabilities"
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I appreciate the poignant imagery here: “blood metal,” a blanket “torn like a utility bill,” and a shimmied frame are some of my favorites.
The scene-building here is so rich, and there’s a bit of distance here that leaves the reader piecing it together in a way I admire
Whew, what a poem. The detail are stunning. The ending took my breath away.
Whoops, I meant “details. ” Such power in the poem!
Love the beauty in the tragedy.
so much violence so much tenderness Well done
Agree with Pat — the balance of tender and the heart stopping is so nice in this. That gasoline puddle as a tender chair — whew!
Oh, man. This part slaps:
“She lay here, waiting
her labors in everything:
perhaps a child’s toy & blanket
torn apart like a utility bill”
Wow, Liz.
You have such a talent for using imagery to create rich atmosphere in your poems. Love this!
I love the last two lines so much!