The Accident

Warning: This is a more serious post than normally intended.

The Accident

I saw a boy lying in the road screaming in pain.
Deposited there off the back of a motorcycle with his dad,
Pushed to the ground by a car too busy running a yellow light to see them.

He saw his dad cry in pain and be bundled away by paramedics
He called for his mom to rise from her cancer bed,
Out of fear and desperation he screamed for her over and over,
With the beat of a loon’s call, slow and constant he yelled,
Silenced only by the doors of the waiting ambulanc,
Needing to be comforted while she still could.

I was summoned there by his best friend,
Who at 17 had the wild eyes of fear and helplessness,
Assuming the worst and unable to help,
Those two had come far together,
Recovering from adolescent decision making,
But was now he was shut out by paramedics,
Told that his place was not at the hospital,
At least not now,
Wounded, he looked at me, but understood.

It was my task to tell Tim, the Scoutmaster who would soon be deluged with calls,
Sharing concerns for the boy we had counseled so ,recently
About an over-anxious girl who was pestering his cell,
While reminding him how far he’d come,
In response he had looked at us with sincerity and told us he was trying,
We did not speak of the foolish paths taken or demons conquered,
Just Saturday by a campfire in another lifetime.

I did not tell Tim that I saw a boy screaming in a road,
Releasing pains far deeper than any accident could elicit.

Billy was released from the hospital with a sprained ankle and will recover from the accident quickly. Bill, his father has a broken wrist and will take longer to recover.