"Wreck": San Ramon Has Talent

SAN RAMON, CA — We've all been there - driving at night, in the rain, and the windshield wipers aren't doing everything they're supposed to. San Ramon resident Philip Henika shared with Patch readers a scary experience he just had on the road in his poem "Wreck."

If you'd like to submit personal artwork or poetry to Patch, email Michael.wittner@patch.com.

Wreck

by Philip Henika

Before the light of day,
During darkness and rain,
Water pours down the front window
Of my car.
Windshield wipers work sometimes.
They clear things up.
Sometimes it is just
Sheer blindness,
A swim in a night pool.
From the look of things,
There’s my ‘drowning’ on the inside,
The wash of my tension,
Like solid grips of the steering wheel
In my orange Toyota Corolla,
A wind-blown tin can.
Just got on
The MacArthur Freeway,
The 580 out of Castro Valley.
A flashlight twirls,
Spins to the side,
Motorcycle out of control
Like the Watts Riot.
Braked too sudden, too late
Clipped the driverless bike
Sent it spinning again.
Struck from behind,
Hydroplane
And screams like a banshee,
Onto the pretty purple succulents.
Stopped a couple feet
Just before the cement,
Before the head-on collision
With the Estudillo overpass.
Stiff neck,
Leg hurts like hell,
Seat belt burns,
Highway Patrol said
That I was driving too fast
For the conditions.