Jenny Hamlett
After Jenny Joseph's 'If You Can't Join Them Beat Them'
Yes. I used to think that too
when they came at me with horns blaring
forced me to the side of the road,
clipped my wing mirror, yelled
it was my fault for driving
too slowly, when they overtook
if I braked for a pheasant,
then ran it over,
foot flat on the accelerator,
hissing with impatience.
I’ve burst out of the car
when they’ve laughed
at my awkward reversing,
lifted my chin,
looked them in the eye,
informed them, woman to man,
‘You do not own the road’.
I’ve seen their faces close
like hatches and their skin
tinge grey.
I’ve marched away, victory clenched
in my fists but now I squeeze my car
into chinks, merge with the tarmac.
I look down, press the panic button.
recall police warnings, rev towards the town.
No, I’m not provocative any more.
I remember the beaten metal of the car
and the woman last seen
at the emergency phone
in the northbound lane.
Page(s) 22
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