Two Motorists Poem by Laurence Overmire

Two motorists
Stranded on the highway
Equal in all respects of dignity and character
Are differently disposed.

The first finds several amiable strangers stopping
To aid him in his distress.
Happy in his fortune, he exclaims,
“Thank God all men are born so good.”

The second finds a thousand faceless automobiles
Streaming past without a care.
Disgusted and perplexed, he shakes his fist at the heavens, and cries,
“Damn you world, that men are born so selfish and cruel.”

Meanwhile, people everywhere
On every highway
Just go on being
People.


(Previously published in Indie Journal, Jan.1999)