Palavras lidas #461

Dangerous Driving
by Caroline Johnson

“The car is a lethal weapon,” my father swore
to me when I was getting my driver’s license.

Still I went on, laughing at him, driving to the most
dangerous places, pushing the accelerator
as fast and hard as I could.

I received my stack of speeding tickets,
and my father threatened to remove
my name from the insurance policy.

“The car is a lethal weapon,” he said again.

Thirty years later, my brakes go out while
driving on a busy Chicago expressway.
I read the billboards, numb, unable to stop.

I get my car fixed, then we take the keys
away from my father, who is struggling
from years of Parkinson’s disease.

“The car is a lethal weapon,” I tell him,
but he still wants to drive.