Overland Pass

The following poem is as it was originally published to Poets on Vocal.Media in 2021. A newer version has been posted in 2024 with added verses to achieve the Challenge's required length of exactly 250 words.

you tried

last thing

wasn’t music

or I love you

or are we there yet?

last thing

wasn't my touch

or your laugh

or silence

last thing

was skidding, swerving,

metal into plastic

plastic into metal,

snapping, bending, cracking

you

and

I

hitting

black ice

black ice

hitting back

our car

and theirs

and theirs

and theirs

slamming

the ice-coated guardrail

careening

me into you into us into them into them into them

the last chance

for the last of your name disappearing

into oncoming traffic

into winter

into the mountain

that we couldn't wait to

escape to

all I can think about is

finding my way into those vast arms

and speaking without words

one more frantic moment

being seen by your perfect eyes

answer me

echoing

as the helicopter finds

a safe place

to land