Cruising on autopilot in my mind
down a road I had driven on a hundred times
thinking of anything but driving as Katie turns up the radio
then I begin braking along the broken pavement

I lose control
first of the steering wheel, then the car
a series of blurry images race before my eyes
as the dust from the air bags swarms the interior
fast and painless

The sound of metal kissing tar
a loud bang you never forget, a thud that makes your chest hurt
unable to comprehend what just occurred
confused at the new orientation
the spider webbed windshield pressed to the ground

Kindhearted people come out of their homes,
consoling us as if we were their own.

We can’t believe we came out of the car alive,
the car looked like a crinkled paper ball.
metal pieces scattered across the road
glass shards sprinkled over the pavement
relief that we had no permanent injuries.