I often wonder
to myself
"how can readers
read,
and not look where they're going,
and still manage
to stay
on track?"


I did this
all the time
and on this day
I did it on the sidewalk


slowly
the book held close to my chest
head down
I read
and still managed to
dodge
women with strollers
and men in work suits
and bicyclists


it was a talent I had.


But it was on
this day
that I gave up
that habit
because of who
I met
on the Street Corner


it wasn't a
particularly
busy day
the walkway
wasn't too crowded
but it was
bustling
with activity


I reached the Street
Corner
I slowed
I approached the button
to cross the street
when suddenly
and without
any warning
he stepped out in front of me


I gaped
I dropped by book
it landed in the
mud of the gutter
with a splat
but I didn't exactly care
my attention was focused
on the young man
in the denim jacket


He was so
handsome
with bleach blond
hair
that was short
and fuzzy
His eyes were almond-shaped
a crystal vastness
that told me
exactly
who He was


This was death
I knew
He
was death
I knew
but I was not afraid


He gave me a smile
and I now
realized
that the street was
silent
it was only He and I
on the Street Corner


neither of us
said a word
but He knew
I wanted to know


like someone had
started a movie
in my head
I saw it
a rainy road
me at the wheel
a man I've never
met
asleep in the passenger seat


suddenly
a dip in the road
the car tilts
I loose control of the wheel
it flips three times
and lands on it's side


I'm not in the car
I'm mangled
and bloody
on the wet pavement
of an empty highway


The man pulls himself
from the car
he calls my name
he lifts my head
but my eyes cannot
find him


he begins to cry
and I want to speak
but instead
I'm slipping...
down...
down...


gone


back on the Street Corner
I blink
the young man in the
denim jacket
smiles again
nods
and walks past me
without a word


I left my book in the gutter
and stared after Him
moseying down
the lively sidewalk
until he turned another
corner
and was gone


I never read and
walk anymore
afraid that
He might be there
and I'll never
even
know it