His Last Race

“The faster you go, the safer you’ll be,” They all will say; But they don’t know the price you will pay. Down the mountain, In the dark, Perhaps after the race Under the dirt is where you will park. We know it’s about winning, We know it’s thrilling; But after the crash, The pain is drilling. But he raced anyway and While going down the mountain In the dark, His car let off a spark. Then another fell, And the two cars crashed, Sounding like a bell. The broken cars kept on, Driving along, Birds singing funeral songs. We held our breath, Watching with wide eyes From the mountain base. You should’ve seen our face As we watched the race. He should’ve listened to us, But he made a fuss. We pleaded him, But he just said He must. Down the mountain they came, Their cars so fast, They couldn’t be tamed. I wish you heard what I heard That moment, So you can sense how tense we all were. That shrilling noise Was scaring my bones, Like nails against a blackboard And screeching like a clipboard. The cars crashed again, Waking all lions in the mountain’s den. One car in front of the other, Completely out of control. The other car started to drift, But he couldn’t get his hand to the shift In time to steer straight. At that moment, he knew is fate, For it wasn’t great. His car was pushed off and Falling down the hill. The earth was still. I wish I could freeze the picture And drag his car back over the top. I wished his car would just stop. I wished his car hadn’t crashed, But the car just went smash. The noise was shrilling, Like a knife through a chest. And he always had thought he was the best. The world was silent; We were silent, ‘Cept for the crying of his wife, For the great racer has lost his life.