Hide from cars.
To whoever owns the play-stained
plastic pastel kiddie playground
next to Spring Vale Elementary School:
I hope you did not see me stop
outside of your home
at approximately 11:17 PM
and listen to the crickets
for an absurdly long time
and take a picture of your playground
and then get scared by the swooshing sound
of a car approaching,
and I hope very much that you did not see me hide
behind the little oak tree
at the front of your yard
waiting for that car to pass by.
But if by chance you did,
I would like you to know
that when I left my house
I had every intention of taking a normal run
but I must admit
I did very little running
(and much staring at rainsoaked sidewalks,
feeling the last of the storm droplet onto the top of my scalp)
on this excursion
but after my first car hiding episode in your lawn
(that is a lie - your lawn was not my first car hiding episode)
I did run for my life after I became convinced that a car
was chasing me because
in my defense
it began driving very slowly
as it approached me
so naturally when another car passed the opposite way
I was certain
they were in fact the same car
and this driver was circling me
to abduct and murder me,
so you can imagine my panic at the third car
coming my way -
Anyway, all this is to say
I got home safely, heart racing,
and lied by omission to my mother
about my run being good
although really it was good
because of your pastel playground
so I got what I deserved -
punishment for taking photos of that playground
that was just minding its own business.
But also
I must thank you
for making my fake run
a good one
besides the hiding from cars.