Outside City Limits
Like the time I was pulled over--
middle child in the passenger seat,
sitting on his hands, not moving,
as he’d been instructed.
Our ‘88 red Chevy Nova,
like no va in Spanish, was going nowhere.
My hands were on the steering wheel,
ten and two, as I’d been instructed,
and my window was wide open.
I watched the officer approach
in the driver’s side mirror and
turned to face his revolver.
He instructed son number two
to show his hands,
slowly. He did as instructed
as I produced registration
and proof of insurance.
The officer had stopped us,
as instructed, for suspicion
of a red car hauling
thieves out of town.
He was sure we were not the crooks,
but he had to check. We listened
to his story and then moved on
down the road, as instructed.
--Todd Sukany 12 Jul 2021
Like the time I was pulled over--
middle child in the passenger seat,
sitting on his hands, not moving,
as he’d been instructed.
Our ‘88 red Chevy Nova,
like no va in Spanish, was going nowhere.
My hands were on the steering wheel,
ten and two, as I’d been instructed,
and my window was wide open.
I watched the officer approach
in the driver’s side mirror and
turned to face his revolver.
He instructed son number two
to show his hands,
slowly. He did as instructed
as I produced registration
and proof of insurance.
The officer had stopped us,
as instructed, for suspicion
of a red car hauling
thieves out of town.
He was sure we were not the crooks,
but he had to check. We listened
to his story and then moved on
down the road, as instructed.
--Todd Sukany 12 Jul 2021