like unto a pebble

 i broke down on I-
fifty five
i broke down the last wall
separating my bewildered drive
from the distance acquiesced
in the middle of
a crisis
in the middle of
a lifeless attempt
to act righteous
in the middle of
a retrovirus
spreading faster
than wheels can spin
i broke down
between the gravel gully
between two grains
between the gamut of my ability
to be
a speck between specks

i came to some crossroads
some crossed roads
they were such
cross roads
and i was angry too
at that black cat that
crossed my path, trailing dirt in the sign
of the cross
across the road

i got a ride
from michael claiming to be
kismet
and he said,
"pardon the drag,
but this is not a car,
you see..."
and the fields flew by
and i adjusted my air vent, blowing icy on my sunburnt face
and we enjoyed a moment of disco-ball refraction
and then he concluded,
"... and we are
merely a pebble
in the roller-skate
of allah."