a steal my heart Poem for today
Mercury Suzanne Cleary Maybe it ruins the story to say at the start that no one was hurt the day Scotty Forester swung open the door of the family car, climbed up, put one hand on the wheel and, then, while pushing and pulling on buttons and knobs, he found and released the brake, and it started, the silver-blue Mercury, to roll down Robin Street, best street in the neighborhood for sledding, for coasting on a bike with arms waving above your head, Scotty gaining speed on the long sweep of that block, heading toward the intersection, then into it, then speeding through, the car beginning to slow as the street leveled out, although, toward the end, Scotty going fast enough to jump the curb before stopping, three feet from a gas pump. Maybe knowing the ending ruins this story, but sometimes we need a break from dread. We need to know that the car did not crash, the child did not die. We need to briefly forget th...