Ode to the Burning Car Along the Highway

November 22 2023 Day 22

The heavy smoke, entwined with the fog and shadows of late afternoon in central New York

We can see the tow truck lights, the flames pour from under the hood of the black sedan like red flickering sand

The tow truck driver leans against the flatbed, watching, fire extinguisher unused next to him, no match for those flames

What to tell the sedan’s owner, well, we towed it but then it just went up, sorry

Thanksgiving inferno, enjoy your holiday, good luck with the insurance company, have a drum stick

My daughter from the backseat, takes pictures of the spectacle as we slowly pass

“Wow,” she says, “that was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

She’s not wrong.