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I'm sorry, Ma'am

by Traci Mabats

You arrive
on the scene
of the accident
A pickups gone off the road
Looks like it did a nose dive
off the ditch
and then rolled a couple times
Broken glass crunches beneath your feet
You approach two young men
sitting on the ground
One is holding his arm, maybe its broken
the other, the driver, has a gash on his head
blood matting into his hair
They're wild-eyed and pale
Understandably shaken up
But there's more
Your gut turns to stone
Another passenger
You look further down the road
she's lying on her back, motionless
She's hit the pavement
As you walk up to her
you hope
and pray
but then you see her face
unnatural, lifeless eyes
Your legs weaken
as you realize
This was the girl who was in
the school play with your son
Not too long ago
But you swallow your gore
and finish up the report
Well knowing the worst is yet to come
As you walk up the steps
to her parents house
You think of your own children
The mother answers the door
and looks at you uneasily
perhaps suspecting other news
than what you bring
Until she sees the grim
expression on your face
And the horror creeps into
her eyes as you begin;
"I'm sorry Ma'am..."

02/01/2004

Author's Note: uhh, I dunno...feet in others shoes I guess, btw this is based on true events

Posted on 02/01/2004
Copyright © 2024 Traci Mabats

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 02/21/04 at 03:44 PM

Powerful recounting. One has to admire those police and emergency workers who see and deal with sort of thing on a regular basis.

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