five minutes in
to last minute shopping
and i was almost in
three accidents as
people ran stop signs
in their desperation
to finish their lists

i didn’t even park
just made a bee line
back to the road
and went back home
where i can safely
disappear from
everyone’s mind again

so driven to satisfy
i can not tell the difference
between my waving hello
and the hushed voices
whispering their farewells
there is a four car pileup
on the access road
leading to happy returns
as i tap the steering wheel
watching them vanish
in a cloud of exhaust fumes
on their way to wherever
gets them farther away
from whatever this is

it is strangely warm
in this frozen hell
avoiding fatal collisions
on the highway that leads
only to stifling finality
the only comfort coming
in the act of letting go
as the miles tick on
writing suicide notes
on the receipts blowing
across the floorboards
to flutter uselessly
in the shadow of dream

i almost went shopping
after three hours
psyching myself up
to venture into the world
it only took five minutes
to be reminded just how
little purpose i serve