Minivan

Rain pounding the highway, relentless Escalating before the cloud’s soaking crescendo A minivan defies the storm fighting down the washed out road A father, alert to the perils, attentively grips the wheel Considering which route to take for optimal safety Calculating every variable, he decides His mind is exclusively on the journey – locked A mother tries to steady her hands, shaking with the excitement of an imminent reunion Blinded to the conditions outside by her fixation on the future “So long since I’ve seen my sister,” she thinks “Surely the kids are just as excited!” She steals a look back at her children Her mind is singularly on her sibling - locked The mother’s glance goes unnoticed to the daughter, due to the child’s captivating book She reads of Sam’s persistence She knows precisely what will happen to the determined creature’s green eggs and ham This does not dissuade her in the slightest, eyes never leaving the paper Her mind is entirely on the story - locked A moist grape between a boy’s fingers The five year old considers darting one at his sister Reconsidering, he drops it back into his plastic bag of grapes She would get him in trouble no doubt But oh the urge to throw one! Spying the illiterate baby across from him: unable to articulate crimes Preparing to fling one at the toddler brother His mind is solely on this roguish task – locked The toddler startles; the cool sphere stinging his cheek Fretting over it for only a second before resuming his daydream Contemplating the meaning of the rain outside The sound of rolling rubber on road Where was he? Who was he? His thoughts: liberated of any preoccupation His mind - free