It was just a moment,
wheels spun in the air,
the earth, she hugged you close,
and the cycle of life
rode on without a sigh.
You would have just
been a stranger,
framed by my window,
for a fraction of time.
But now,
they lay those flowers
where you fell,
you have a scent,
a name,
a face,
you mix with the
light and the breeze;
a part of you
has seeped in
through the panes,
to ride the trails
forever,
with me.
THOUGHT PURGE 
Reblogged this on THOTPURGE and commented:
From the Archives #Throwback
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This was very well written, but I certainly hope it’s not an everyday occurrence. Peace, Linda
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Thanks Linda 🙂
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it always interests me that when something happens close to home, it seems much more real than…”oh well…that happened a long ways from here”. Life is life, no matter how close or far, but something about a close encounter with a tragedy like this just seems so much more traumatic. Powerful write!
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Thank you Bryan.
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Dark — I’ve cared for many of those — the survivors and the dead.
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Thank you Sabio Lantz…
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you’ve captured an instant from life which is so very harsh sometimes…such sadness is painted here…
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Thank you Sumana 🙂
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beautiful – hit and run is a cowardly action
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Thank you Bill.
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my roommate’s sister was killed by a drunk driver – she was walking on the sidewalk when he hit her. He drove back, then sped off.
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That’s really awful…sorry the poem brought back difficult memories.
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These lines make the whole poem, to my mind:
You would have just
been a stranger,
framed by my window,
for a fraction of time.
But now,
they lay those flowers
where you fell,
you have a scent,
a name…
That instant when tragedy turns someone from a stranger to a person we feel some connection with.
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Thank you Marina.
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I like your phrase, /the lottery of unnatural death/, because yes, we all balance on the precipice, & could tumble into oblivion at any moment. I once witnessed a young child get hit by a car in a cross walk. Many of us had stopped, but one car sped around the outside lane & struck the child. Those images stay with you forever.
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Thanks Glenn… must have been quite horrible to see the accident, you’re right, it’s hard to get over images like that. Appreciate your comment.
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This is so sad. Still I’m glad for your way of marking this sad event with your poem.
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Thank you Myrna.
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A very sad moment treated with delicate respect in such a literary way. Your poetry remains very readable, as a narrative dealing with a trauma or in description. Very well done.
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Thank you Hamish… this was one of those “instant reaction” poems, am glad it worked.
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Yes.. the pitfalls of life often do come
to greater love connections..
and those who do pass on..
continue to live in
those loving eyes..:)
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Thank you Katie 🙂
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This is so powerful, and for sure a witness you become close with a stranger all at once, and the roadside flowers are a constant reminder.
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Thank you Björn.
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it happens way too often and we have too many people dying on the road – i can imagine that even if you don’t know the person it is traumatic to be witness of an accident like that
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Thank you for reading Claudia. Agree, way too many accidents..dulling our sensibility to the human loss.
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Oh gosh, hard to witness, stays with you even to read your well done poem.
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Thanks so much Dell Clover.
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Welcome.
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This is very moving. Interesting how this person who before had been an unknown to many is now known to many. I always wonder about those little flower memorials. I wonder if that person was known as much in life as he / she was in his/her death. Yes, the name and the face is recognized now. Immortalized really in such a tragic way.
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Thank you Mary.. wondering based on what you said, if people place flowers on strangers’ memorials because they realize then that the lottery of unnatural death could swing their way just as easily..maybe a shared fear and understanding in that moment of needless tragedy. Maybe…
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Life happens when we least expect and even though we may not have known the person we can be impacted by their passing. Even if for a moment we take a small piece of them with us. So did the biker get hit by a car? What a mess. I watched that happen once.
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Yes, a hit and run… in an instant transformed from a biker headed somewhere to a picture and flowers against a metal railing.
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There is a dark beauty, giving me an air of Miss Dickinson, in the treatment of death here. It’s difficult to call it lovely, so gentle and compassionate must suffice. Very moving poem,
AB
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Thank you, appreciate your comment very much 🙂
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This is a very powerful poem. I am sorry you had to witness such a sad event, Thotpurge. You made us see how and why this woman suddenly became much more than a line in the news.
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Thanks Gabriella.. I witnessed it second hand..was on the phone with a friend who saw the accident from his window at work. Then he sent me a picture of the flowers and the impromptu memorial…that’s what inspired the poem. Don’t know where the biker was headed, but felt a wave of sadness at an unnecessary life lost.
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