Jill Michelle

Tried to Run

Bitter as a re-caged cat, I limp back,

Return to Mom’s house, move to Florida,

Ended in a car crash, all that plucked glass

And blood, holding still as the semi-truck,

Killer metal whale, suddenly there, lights

Off, beached across both median and street—

Nothing left but trees, oncoming headlights.

Two thoughts (I’m gonna die. Aim for a wheel.)

Hit in an instant.  I veer.  The flatbed’s

Rubber tires fill the windshield.  Eyes closed

On impact, I bounce back—body broken,

Unpinned by ambulance men, stitched whole. Don’t

Go.  It’s an omen, Mom says when I tell

Her I’m leaving still, Dad’s booked the ticket.

Bio

Jill Michelle teaches at Valencia College in Orlando, Florida. Her recent and forthcoming poems can be found in Paper Dragon, Halfway Down the Stairs, Prospectus, Delmarva Review, Sylvia Magazine, Bacopa Literary Review, The Book of Bad Betties and Words from the Brink.