I'm sorry Wesley came along
and we both had to ride in the bed.
I'm sorry I willingly stepped over the tailgate
knowing what my parents would have said.
I'm sorry that every time your brother took off
it made you hit your head.
And I'm sorry for thinking,
'if he crashed right now,
we'd all be dead.'

I'm sorry, Mommy,
that I disobied;
that I rode in cars with boys
and the boys were not my age.
I'm sorry your daughter could have died that day.
And I'm sorry there was little
to hold onto
but the truck's orange side,
and for the rust I scraped under my fingernails
when he made a turn to the right.

I'm sorry that we
wore our studded jeans
and could've scraped up
your dad's truck.
I'm sorry for believing, falsely,
that 60 miles per hour would have felt safer in the front.

I'm sorry I finally got used
to your brother
giving no warning when the
lights changed.
And I'm sorry the black Volkwagen Beetle
isn't within your six
thousand dollar price range.

And I'm sorry that when we
got to your house
stopping was such a surprise
that we were on our backs
weighed down by laughter and
the water in our eyes.
I'm sorry Sleeping Beauty
thought it was funny;
but I was just happy
to be alive.