Having skittered clear
across the wet intersection,
one regretful person
(clutched in terror)
was the reason for
standstill traffic
tonight
Finally, it was my
turn to rubberneck,
when this ominous,
arresting image
caught me instead:
a procession of
autos, snaked miles
into the distance–
a thousand p u f f s s
of exhaust breath
hanging still
in the night