The Meanness Afoot
by Peggy Turnbull
with a threatening thrum
three super-sized trucks
follow too closely
a pack of predators
harrying prey
on the lonely highway
you pull off at Route P
they whoosh past--
one, two, three--
three brains
plugged into
a central command
hollow stalks rattle
late-autumn fields
sink into night’s
fertilizer stench
your cognition thickens
your thoughts stop
soon you’re mindless
a zooming, tailgating
road-raging
robot driver
converting others
on the ruthless road
three super-sized trucks
follow too closely
a pack of predators
harrying prey
on the lonely highway
you pull off at Route P
they whoosh past--
one, two, three--
three brains
plugged into
a central command
hollow stalks rattle
late-autumn fields
sink into night’s
fertilizer stench
your cognition thickens
your thoughts stop
soon you’re mindless
a zooming, tailgating
road-raging
robot driver
converting others
on the ruthless road
Peggy Turnbull is a retired academic librarian who lives in her birthplace on the shore of Lake Michigan. Her first chapbook, "The Joy of Their Holiness," was published by Kelsay Books in 2020. Her poetry has been recently published in Hummingbird, Right Hand Pointing, and As It Ought To Be.