Poetry Contemporary Poetry - Mature Audience 1 min

DNT PNIC

Francis Daulerio

Sure, a few of the vowels are missing,

but I'm no dummy,

though rushing toward the next

inconsequential thing I have to do,

it takes a quarter mile or so to see

the out-of-state plate on this grey Ford Focus

that's going a little slow for my liking,

not clicking until the red light, when it hits me:

DNT PNIC

like a message sent from somewhere

I've struggled lately

to find hope in,

but I've struggled lately to find hope in most things,

these last weeks again a spiraling

mess of counting breaths,

stomach full of worry

over nothing I can name,

and only minutes before this very moment,

hollered into my windshield

how long am I going to feel like this?

But glass is just polished sand,

and God's been tight-lipped lately,

so instead, I'll raise my Amens to you, generic dude

in your silver sedan, spreading the good word

of focus and calm at thirty miles per hour

across southeastern Pennsylvania,

slowing me down

right when I need to.

Francis Daulerio is the author of two books of poetry, If & When We Wake (2015) and Please Plant This Book (2018). More info at FrancisDaulerio.com.

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