I will not react

like someone who needs

to be some place

five minutes ago.

I'll bite my tongue

and the horn

will do the same.

I will make allowances

for all that is going on in the life

of the back of the head

in the car in front of me.

What if he's just been diagnosed

with fourth stage cancer

or he's lost his job of thirty years

or his wife has left him.

Yes, the light is green

and he hasn't budged

but who'd want to go

in such circumstances.

I will curb my natural

aggressive behavior.

I won't shake my fist

or scream obscenities.

He's a fellow human being

and deserving of my respect.

He did not ask to be the car

ahead of me at this traffic light.

But, if he had,

I would have screamed emphatically

"No!"

© by John Grey.
Used with the author’s permission.