The Intersection

Squealing while struggling to a halt. Hammering a fist on the wheel.

She hands a tablet back to the girl in a pink dress, with no shoes.

Stomping the brake pedal, the textbooks landslide to the floorboard.

Bright eyes glaring back, a newborn on a video chat from the bestie.

Morning in the city, life in all directions. One intersection.

The night sky falls, the lights begin to blink.

Cold and somber, a drunken man sleeps in an idle car, perhaps saving a life.

Found by onlookers. Ignition turned off; disaster averted by Samaritans. 

Even he can remember when the lights only flashed red.

A smaller town, a simpler time. Before the expansion to yellow and green.

Sounds travel further in the darkness, sirens wailing. He dreams…

Days gone by, the early stages of a work in progress.

Blue skies and the open fields around an asphalt path to everywhere.

“Wide Load” as the generators make their way to the new power station.

Property management signs foreshadow the conversion back to a jungle. 

A new concrete version, and more intersections will follow. Closer together.

Sidewalks and storefronts. Enough folks to fall through social cracks.

The vanity arises to compare and covet thy neighbor’s goods.

Not everyone is mobile… between cars jaywalkers straggle at uneven paces.

Judged by those with transportation, even the taxied transients. 

Headphones and newspapers disorienting the folks at the crosswalk.

Meanwhile, inside visors down and eyeliner open for the pit stop. 

Checking devices for updates or stimulation. Natural replaced digitally.

Horns blare when the transition from red doesn’t update… fast enough.

Changes through time. New crossings. Ramps to enter or escape. 

We honor folks. Their names hang above as we look to the sky.

Colorful signs, multiple numbers. Seemingly more important.

Has this paved paradise reduced the quality of life?

The importance, and a need for travel, favored over sanctuary.

Sometimes these towns arise and fall to the mighty dollar.

Abandoned buildings and signs from a forgotten era.

The same thoroughfares that drove investment taketh away.

Why not visit the metropolis for consumption? Currency migrating.

Innocence lost in the relocation of homegrown to incorporation.

A new road, to a new junction. One that changes traffic patterns. 

What once was; becomes obsolete. Replacing even the stopping and lights.

Modern flow via circles and cloverleaves. We don’t have time to stop. 

Perhaps these new layouts prevent the wild times of the past.

Barreling through, blind to color, risking it all.

Fleeing for his freedom. Chancing a community. Refusing to slow.

Onlookers ponder. What if? Vehicles obliterated by one another. 

Emergency sounds and lights keep us still. We are thankful, yet curious.

Cheering on the crusaders of justice in pursuit.

Another timely change… Officers are no longer allowed to give chase.
Modern roads are simply too busy. Motors over mortality.

Cones and detours narrow our choices, close our lanes. We adapt.

Slowing down for the advancement of progress.

Only with development come One Way streets and medians...

Notice that we cannot turn right, where turning around is unlawful.

We cannot go back… That was another time.

Limiting ourselves with the growth of opportunity? Safety from ourselves.

Nature will test our dependence. Powers out. Trust is our lighthouse.

Reflectors placed; then plowed as collateral damage fighting winter weather.

Dark paths now structured only with white and yellow like yesteryear.

Approaching a new intersection. Fresh roads with familiar directions.

Where will we turn? Windows down to a raucous of noise. 

Folks drowning out the sound of change. Dirt blowing across the road.

The reverb of work from a distance, the bass from a car up close.

Approaching slowly; Knowing more about our choices.

Fines are higher through work zones. Where history and decisions collide.

Beyond civilization there are hundreds of miles of blacktop.

Far from lights. No stops. Where speed makes you a force of nature.

Untamed places. Risky travel. Centuries old dangers; never changing.

Temperatures to both extremes. An intersection of unfavorable conditions.

Fitting biblical descriptions and leaving travelers to ponder.

Landscapes from our history books. The places we revert to go green.

Where we plant our wind farms and cultivate our solar power.

Far from anything developed. Yet, the cutting edge of industry.

A nebula of advancement. Previously innocent now home of perpetuity.

We extend ourselves, overachieve, and in trade give up some humanity.

The lineage of descendance can be looked at this way. Purity watered down.

Strains of the religion of our fathers. Great bodies now filtered, streaming.

Aquatic tollbooths where unpleasant things are filtered and left behind.

Fewer nations become smaller. Independence spreads. More borders.

We choose modicums of virtue. Do we consider all directions and dangers?

An intersection of who you are and the ideals of where you are going to be.

---------------------------------

We will stand tall, face it all together, at sky fall.