Dave wears a string of pearls

as we watch his life

of Reality TV

over our dashboards

getting onto I-5.

 

Our guilt drips affluence

is jolted by confluence:

his eyes

rear ending our lives.

 

Money for beer

implores his sign

as Dave wonders

about honesty.

 

If we didn’t look away

we’d see his pearls

simmer and glow

with images:

the Mekong Delta

and helicopters.

 

But they go dark

like a bottomless Vietcong pit.

 

The endless red light

suddenly turns green

 

and we race away

 

relieved to just have to face

our angry, illogical boss

 

…and Dave to never pray.