Traffic Jam

The cars stop halfway up the mountain highway,
So I sit for a while, happy to relax.
It won't be long,
But five minutes turns to ten
And then suddenly it's a half hour.
Drivers step out of their trucks, restless.
Children scurry into a gully to pee.
It's 95 degrees
So I burn gas to keep the cold air on,
Comforting the dogs in back.
A brave, selfish car hugs the shoulder,
Bypassing the long backup which is now simply a
Parking lot.
Tempers flare.
A man shakes his fist at a motorcycle squeezing up the middle.
I chew a stick of gum and begin to lose my cool, as well.
Damn.
The dogs are getting agitated.
They sit up and whine.
Then the endless line of cars begins to crawl forward
Where the road disappears into the canyon.
I feel better once we start moving until,
Miles ahead,
We pass an ambulance and a car burned down to its tires,
And I chide myself for my conceit and
Indifference.

© Poem Fix http://www.poemfix.com 2012
Photo by Poem Fix