Poem – Stuck on the Long Island Expressway near Lakeville Road (By Tom Brogan)

On the west bound expressway

I drive my silver Honda. Except

for a few stars, everything is black,

The road is black, and rear car lights

seem like a meteor show going 80 mph.

There are four lanes of road.

I drive a short distance and

the engine dies.   My pulse quickens;

My stomach tightens.

Cars swerve around me.

I put on my flashers. Two guys in

a car behind me, my saviors disguised

in Nike shorts and shirts

ask if I want a push. Like matadors,

they jump out and push my car

Into the right lane

out of the onslaught

of speeding metal.

A woman driver, with

brown stylish hair, driving alone

heading for the exit, appears. She stops,

offers me her cell phone.

I press some numbers in.

I get through, then

hand the phone back to her.

Sweating but relieved, I sit in a tow truck.

Author Bio:

Tom Brogan is a library supervisor at Brooklyn Public Library and a poet.  He has contributed two essays to Bridging Cultures: Ethnic Services in the Libraries in New York State published by the New York Library Association.