the law in the helicopter
spots our blue pickup
and we hear the distant siren
of the highway patrol
being vectored in

so the guy driving
crashes us into a canopy of woods
and eventually we find his trailer
where he’s got a family
and we just sit around
and get updates on the hunt
on the cheap TV

we will be caught

in the dream there is no doubt
that this will happen
capture and incarceration
as there is also no doubt
that I will not be able
to endure it

the permanent separation
from my wife and family
has already begun
and it sits in my stomach like a stone
while I just sit on the couch in the trailer
hearing the low level sounds
of domestic pandemonium
something’s boiling over on the stove
a kid’s yelling at his sister
a baby keeps crying

then I wake up
and reach for my wife
who’s already up making coffee
and my hand lands
on the cold sheet
and I’m unable to call out

*  *  *

days go by
like low thunder

I don’t look people in the eye

it’s difficult to focus
on what has to be done

my laughter sounds hollow

my crime is undefined

I feel like something really bad is going to happen

_____________________

from the collection the majesty of the past (Buy Me Lunch, 2009) by Bob Hudson