Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 - 7:41 p.m.
Mysterious Impact
*******************
Walking down the highway
lovely sunny afternoon
looking for wild fruit
wild turkeys
and enjoy what may be
the last nice day this year
down the sloping tarmac
of the little highway
in the off season
over the little bridge
over the little river
where the big trees reach so tall
and wide that they meet overhead
and create a cathedral effect
between the observer
and the overhead sun
this is where the herds of deer cross the road
this is the coyotes regular pathway
this is the foxes pathways into town
only the rare foot stroller
marching down
the side of the highway
on their way to nowhere
ever sees any of this;
everybody else in their cars swish past
dip along the dark gully bridge
and then roar away
along the straight away
we were remarking on the
abrupt shift in plants species
as we left the sunny meadows
and approached the dark dip
of the little bridge
over the little river
and then we saw it:
a hole ploughed out of the treeline
invisible from the road
we could see the crazy twin ruts
of off road vehicle wheels
that had ploughed deeply
into the creekside mud
swerving off the highway
and right into the woods.
The lush green weeds were rolled flat
a series of small trees were snapped over
and rolled over flat as well
and there, a huge fresh gash
in the bark of an enormous Maple tree
showed where the phantom vehicle
had come to an abrupt stop
The forest floor several metres forward
was littered with the shrapnel of impact"
fragments its of wind shield glass.
twisted slivers of trim chrome
red relector plastic bits
and oddly: a mint condition take out coffee cup
and a complete chocolate bar, unopened we surmised by the freshness of the tree wound the fresh tire tracks that the crash had happened just the day before..
Then we noticed the second set
of tire tracks super imposed
over the crash vehicles tracks in the mud
that, we speculated was the tow truck
that backed in to haul the wreck away
under cover of darkness
it was erie to behold
the signs of great violence
that had just freshly passed
and evaluate the scope of the disaster
but there was nothing much
or nobody at all there
Just the gaping hole
punched into the treeline
from a run away vehicle
and the spray of vehicle bits
It didn't look like
whoever was riving
walked away
if they did,
they are missing
one chocolate bar
