Rushing steps halt cold,
Crimson glare demands patience—
Time drips through still air.

the rush hour traffic
  draws  on udders of cloud
i watch  for rain

The flash of parakeets in the rain,
in darkest Ealing,
raise heavy souls away
from the drizzle,
up from the road
long enough to gift
a memorable
collision.

he forgot how to human
all the competition drained from him
sitting at the lights
in the midst of blaring horns
the gateway open
go green
go green
no one caring that HE'd broken down
looking at an event horizon
drawing him from the crowd

a knot of traffic
unravels
to reveal.... nothing
no reason for delay
no great drama
just
too many people
in too many cars
in one place
at one time
wanting to be in front
all more important
than everybody else

we put on our road face
grill mask to intimidate
motorway warriors
"make way, make way"
weaving in and out of lanes
twin exhausts show our power
important tints
"you can't see me now"
travelling in the same direction
to all our different destinations
individuals on our journeys
through time and space
this is the human race

2020 was terrible, and that
Is quite the understatement.
And yet... There were gifts;
Should I feel guilty for saying that?

Oh, for months, I needed no shoes
To say nothing of brakes & wheels
Then, unforeseen urgency at work
My meat jail is needed at the office

Footwear was such a weird sensation.
But that is nothing, to the next sight.
The busy road, one that always jammed...
EMPTY! This is a miracle! Beyond miraculous!

Why, the drive to work, never so smooth!
The time it took, how amazingly short!
And all this, at safe and careful speeds!

......

And now, everyone is back on the road again.
Worse, social distancing between humans
Also became a thing, I sorely missed
Jams on the roads, sardines among humans.

uncut grass
   casts long shadows by night
animated on the inside
   of our basement windows
elongating and dashing away
   projected by the passing traffic

I will get nowhere faster than you
Just look at the yellow lights I'm blowing through
Yes, for a moment it seems you have the edge
But you drive with your heart instead of your head
I saw that no u-turn coming for miles
You cut me off, and I was all smiles
In reality we both have nowhere to get to
But I'm gonna get there faster than you