(A True Story)
Following a large truck one day
As I was going to a meeting,
To claim a minor accident,
The sun was hotly beating.
The car late last night, I didn’t see
As it flew around a corner.
I pulled out in time to hit his back.
The man was such a scorner.
“I’m very late for my party,” he roared,
“I don’t really have the time for you”,
“The damage isn’t horribly bad.
You call and deal with the men in blue.”
In the rush of the moment
When everything goes south,
It’s amazing the shellfish things
That can spew from one’s mouth!
Alone I sat, and called the police
Hearing only my heart thud.
They wouldn’t come on out, they said,
Unless there was death or blood.
In the heat of the moment
Whenever there’s a need,
It’s amazing the simplest things
They won’t do unless you bleed.
So, here I am, the next day
Following a heavy-laden truck.
Hoping that its contests hold
And don’t shower me with muck.
For in the bed of said full truck
Were not cute and fluffy Scotties.
No, I was unwittingly following
A truck filled with port-a-potties.
The loaded truck suddenly stopped.
“Oh no, you didn’t,” I fiercely cried.
The port-a-potties and my white car
Were about to instantly collide!
The loaded truck suddenly stopped.
Just as suddenly I was torn.
Do I use my free hand for the brake,
Or do I use it to hit the horn?
I’m paraplegic and use special controls
To drive, to brake, and to steer.
I usually drive exceptionally well,
Unless also paralyzed with fear!
I wasn’t following too closely.
I wasn’t going too fast.
He just stopped so very suddenly!
It left me all aghast!
By the time I had it figured out,
There came a not so gentle bump.
The hood started steaming.
It made my poor heart jump!
The man jumped out straight away.
Young and nervous he did appear.
He knew he could be sued or fired.
Though he seemed not insincere.
He said, “It just a scratch.”
Though his face was very pale.
He said for me to take a look
So I could see it all full scale.
In the panic of the moment
When everything goes south,
It’s amazing the untruths things
That can fly out of one’s mouth!
I looked in the back of my car
And spotted my wheelchair.
It takes a lot to get it out
And I was feeling kind of frail.
Saying, “I can’t easily get out”;
Still deciding what to do,
Pointing in the back, he says,
“Did I do that to you?”
In the fear of the moment
When everything goes south,
It’s amazing the oddest things
That can spout from one’s mouth!
Stunned I stared at him and gaped.
It all seemed so surreal.
But I found a little humor
Out of such a strange ordeal.
I wanted to laugh at his expense.
I wanted to scream and to shout.
I wanted to be sarcastic.
To keep up his fearful doubt.
“No, I always keep it back there
In case the need arises,
Just in case a wreck occurs
That maims and paralyses.”
Or “Yes, whenever there’s a crash
That involves trucks with many gears,
As soon as it is over, poof,
A wheelchair just appears.”
In the tenseness of the moment
When everything goes south,
It’s amazing the sarcastic things
You can convey with your mouth.
But I took pity on the young soul.
He seemed truly sorry for his blunder.
I told him no, I was all right,
Ease the fear that he was under.
In the fear of the moment
When everything goes south,
It’s amazing the erroneous things
You can forgive with your mouth.
Share Your Thoughts or Just Like up Above!