on my way to work
on Mother's Day
traffic at a standstill
i can't see why

the radio is on
reporting news
like a eulogy
a morbid list
10 dead here
4 dead there
hundreds dead somewhere
people starving
people fighting
people jobless
people homeless
people helpless
people hopeless

traffic begins to move
flashing lights
emergency vehicles
what used to be
family vehicles
now twisted
metal sculpture
monuments to
the moment
of impact
people huddled
in small groups
on the side of the highway
they look
lost and confused
a plastic sheet
on the wet pavement
vaguely human shaped
that everyone
is trying
not to look at
because
if they don't
look at it
it might not
be true

as we inch by
this stop motion
tragedy
and the radio
drones on morbidly
i am reminded
to be grateful
on this
Mother's Day
that i can hug
my mom
whenever i want to
she isn't
a mound on a highway
or on today's list
of death
and despair

i get to work
and wander
through the maze
to my desk
footsteps punctuated
with sound bites
from my co-workers
complaints
and whining
about
the most trivial
of things
and all i can think
is
you have nothing
valid
to complain about
so
shut the fuck up

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