A FEW SPLIT SECONDS

A deer

not yet realizing it's dead

pirouettes down the remaining length of 

my flinching pickup

Tires scribble outside the lines

With all my might

I will the truck to turn

like league bowlers use body English

to  curve their bowling balls

after the release

but travel a physics-determined path

as a passenger

along for the ride

to its end

while accusing an unlikely omniscient being

You have got to be kidding me

After the gravel lands

After the silence and me still breathing

After the curious stop to see -

kind enough to help

as they

understandably

revel in their luck

That cop

who has seen it all before

Asks me questions I can understand

and like some guardian angel

guides me out of my paralysis

and actually says

Just doing my job

The tow truck driver

thinks city folk need to

keep their eyes open and pay more attention

but I think tow truck drivers

own and operate

deer farms

Kyle said

It's clear you aren't supposed to buy a Ranger

But I think sometimes that's just what happens

when you try to see the Aurora Borealis

THE ACROBAT

A Unible (about half as good as a parable - or worse)

by scott

The terrible accident put an end to the dangerous trapeze act.

(dramatic pause)

…some time later, another acrobat appeared at the circus employment office to fill the vacancy created by the accident.

At first, the resident acrobat could not be coaxed back onto the trapeze.

But acrobats are not well suited to sweep up peanut shells….

He could not stay away for long.

In the beginning their timing was off.

But It got better.

…and soon the accident was almost forgotten.

The trapeze act opened again.

The bleachers were filled to capacity...

...and then some.

It was soon time to try the death-defying 42 somersault sky-leap with the special over-torque effect.

“…Never before attempted!” said the circus master, “…successfully.” he added.

Suddenly the resident acrobat remembered the accident.

And when it came time to leap…he didn’t let go.

The two acrobats looked silly just hanging there.

The crowd said, “Boooo!”

…and the act came to an end…but only for a while.

Sometimes the grandchildren would demand, “Tell us about your circus days!”

The old white haired ex-resident acrobat would turn off the T.V. and set aside his sandwich and beer.

The Acrobat said, “It was my job to be there…to catch and hold on tight.”

“But what really made the show exciting… was learning to trust and…let go.”

“Why, I’ll never forget the day your grandma and I finally attempted the death defying 42 somersault sky leap with the special over-torque effect…”

“…successfully!” he added.