Detour
by Marie Delgado Travis
Why do some people
Have an internal brake
Rack and pinion
Power steering
To guide them,
Smoothly,
Left to right,
Right from wrong?
4-wheel drive, with V-8 engines,
To help them climb over
Rugged terrain
In and out of
Man-made ditches.
Fully insured,
Crash-tested,
With front and side
Airbags, just in case!
While, on the same road,
So many others
Come and go,
Come and go…
Not only without
Satellite positioning systems
(One could understand a lack of
Modern accessories)
But more alarmingly,
Overriding basic,
Factory-installed features,
Like speedometers,
As they approach
School zones
Headlights,
As they navigate life's
Dark, often blind, corners
Rear view mirrors
To see the trail of dust
They invariably leave behind.
They race, without honking, through
Red lights and police barricades,
Leading futile, high speed chases
Low on fuel,
Ignoring stop signs,
Plowing down pedestrians,
Wrapping their vehicles
Around lamp posts,
Careening down cliffs.
Until they find themselves
Hopelessly turned around.
Lost, one night,
On a long, lonely
Stretch of highway
Leading Nowhere
Men too proud, perhaps,
To stop and ask for directions.
Women too busy yakking on
Their cell phones to really listen.
Perhaps God should just give up
And announce a massive recall.
But because
—Mercifully—
He considers us
Very much
Under warranty,
He stands there,
At the junction,
Still waiting
Patiently
To hitch
A ride.
MARIE DELGADO TRAVIS is an award-winning author. She writes poetry and prose in English and Spanish. Visit her website at www.mariedelgadotravis.com and order her poetry books at www.lulu.com/marilu and major online booksellers, including Amazon.com
