Wild

“Like I was suddenly some safer form of fire”
-Ada Limon

Parallel Mustangs revving at an intersection
Back and forth
Like a conversation

Between Neanderthals listing their kills
Around a campfire
in competition over the same mate.

Rrrrrrrrrrrr bison.
Rrrrrrrrrrrr mammoth.
Rrrrrrrrrrrrr saber tooth cat.

Even the moon is moved
To eavesdrop; she lingers, curling a ringlet
Of clouds around a finger
With a blush of coyness to her smile

Above these traffic lights glowing like the last embers
On a log in the fire.

One must appreciate these moments
When the decisions you’ve made
Seem perfectly adequate …

This modest front-wheel-drive Honda
Paid-off and broking-in
Pulled by a four-cylinder mule

Sowing the field of fiscal responsibility
Anonymously.

Just listen to how each Mustang
Exaggerating its importance

In shimmies and full-bodied shudders, in growls and grunts,
Needles jumping into red—

The red of energy, the red of arousal, the red of envy—

This tangible yearning for the license of a green light
To coerce tires from their comfortable beds;

To sneak out on a school day;
To feed furniture into the fireplace;
To spin and smoke;

To feel the adrenaline boost
Drifting past the limits of control
Into a stranger’s lane

***