Will we ever get there?
we’ve been driving for about
sixty-four kilometers
across the arid landscape
yet we haven’t found our stop
Everyone is thirsty
mad and hungry
the bus is covered in dust
and slowly choking on it
just like our lungs
there is a mother with a baby
who has been crying
for almost an hour now
the driver is just mute
except for his coughing
no one is immune to
the unforgiving dust
even the two young men
at the very back, just behind me,
with their gleaming foreheads
dripping sweat like tears,
are not spared. But as I
steal a glance at them
I can tell that they don’t
intend to smile at all today
suddenly another tire flattens
the driver pulls over aside the
barely-trekked desert road
and walks assuredly to the back.
someone has to change the tire.
I barely have enough time to
look before the two men spring
up and brandish a blade each
the lady next to me screams
and all I do is gasp and
tremble in my seat—
our fate is sealed—
maybe we have arrived
at a different place.
Good poem. Unexpected and I was caught unaware by the ending. Almost meta. Didn't know where this was going but I kept reading with anticipation because of the set up and short curt descriptions. The journey and pay off were worth it. I can sense the frustration with each line and even the ending tops it off with a 'well, of course it got worse'.
So true! Nice poem of a real life situation that many have experienced. Good job!