New Car
We’ve built a beautiful box
to withstand the storm.
As it whips through
The ink dark sky
We sit inside,
Our seats warm,
Our bodies sound,
Our breathing steady.
And still it howls.
Branches are thrown
Across the street just
Beyond our windshield
And wheels slide atop
Crunchy spiked seed pods,
Thick clusters of fall leaves
Still attached to the wood
Littering the road
In the driving sideways rain.
We careen
Through the gale,
Faster now,
Flying past
Lanes of traffic,
Cars three times
The size of ours
Bearing down
While we whirl
Into the night,
Lights turned on
Extra bright.
In this new car
I am reminded:
It’s been so long that
We have felt this warm,
This comforted,
This insulated -
Sweetly held in this mercy
Of our own devising,
Cradle of metal and glass
Rocked by the wind and rain’s
Fierce lullaby.
- Meredith Alexander Kunz © 2019