The Road

I’ve driven this road a hundred times.

Know every curve of the pavement

Like a lover’s body

By light of the sun

Or shadow of a stormy night

I know this road

But tonight it tastes different

Maybe it’s the whiskey in my eyes

But I swear I passed that tree already

The one with the scar

Just past the broken rail

Unease fills my throat

Burning like bile

It’s here again

The tree

The scar

Was it that close to the road before?

I go faster

The tree flickers past again

Close

Closer

The scar on it’s trunk

A gapping wound

I know

If I slow

It will swallow me whole

Then it’s here

Then it happens

Twisted metal

Like the sound of a crunching water bottle

The front of my car

Wrapping around the trunk

Digging into it’s flesh

And I’m flying

Through glass

Through the air

The limbs of the tree

Embracing me