I wasn’t shot

(written on September 16, 2010)

 

A knock on the door.

The man says they have come to

put our windows in.

When we moved into our apartment

back in early May

they said all our windows would be

replaced in about three weeks.

We've learned that three weeks means

three or four months.

A couple of months ago

they came and put in four windows,

but didn't have the other three.

They said it would be about three weeks

until the other three came in.

That was two months ago.

But there they were this morning—

with our windows.

They said it would take about

two hours.

When I left this morning they were

starting their work.

I had decided to get the heck out

of there

away from the noise and all

so I could work on my blog book.

I decided to go to Panera and get

some coffee and a pastry

and write on my netbook.

When I got to Panera I mistakenly

pulled into a parking space at Starbucks

(which would mean that I would have to

walk a ways to get back to

Panera).

As I realized what I had done

I sat there for a moment

before backing out.

I waited a second too long.

A car stopped right behind me

and I couldn't get out.

It looked like an older model car,

maybe an '88 or a '95 (I know nothing

about car models anymore; when I

was a kid I could look at any car

going down the street and tell you

the model and the year; but now I don't

study cars or keep up with them; there are

just too many kinds).

This car was a pale yellow sedan.

A man jumped out of it,

and immediately I saw the badge

and the gun; he was a detective.

He pointed my way,

and suddenly a police car pulled up

beside him

and three more police cars came from

every direction, closing off exits.

Policemen got out of their cars and

began walking toward my car.

I've seen this sort of thing in movies

and TV shows hundreds of times,

but I had never been in the middle of it

before.

I froze.

I put my hands up on the steering wheel

in full sight.

The law men came to the passenger side

of my Saturn.

That's when I realized that they were

after car next to mine.

A man and woman, about 25 years old each,

were sitting in the car to my right.

The police asked them for their ID and told them

to get out of the car.

I noticed that in one of the police cars

there was a woman hand-cuffed in the back seat.

Maybe she snitched on these two.

Anyway, I was prepared to duck down in my

seat if anyone started shooting.

Luckily no one did.

A friendly police officer noticed that I was

blocked in and moved his car so I could leave.

There are truly nice people in this world.

I got out of there

and parked in the Panera lot,

went in and got a nutritious pastry

and some coffee.

When I got home late in the afternoon,

I saw that the men had put two new windows

in our kitchen.

But the one bathroom window had not

been replaced.

I guess two hours means two days?

Anyway, I'm home safe and sound.

I wasn't shot; I have no pain.

Just a few panes short.

 

The Arrow

You walk into a field.

In the distance you see something

leaning against a tree.

On closer inspection you see

a target leaning against an old oak tree.

And in the target is an arrow,

not in the bull's eye,

but close--one circle outward.

A hawk circles in the blue sky

above the trees behind

the concentric red designs.

You look all around; no one

in sight.

The arrow has brown feathers

on the end,

the color of sparrows that fight

for seeds in your feeder at home.

You think about pulling the arrow out

to inspect its point--

to see if it is like the ancient Cherokee

flint ones that you used to find

on your grandfather's farm

in Kentucky.

But you let it go.

What's the point?

It's hard for you to believe

in the existence of bows,

though you guess it's possible.

But definitely not the Archer.

The breeze feels good on your face

under the scorching sun.

No rain clouds in sight.

The weather man has broadcast

an error again.

Computer models aren't perfect.

You turn to leave and notice a doe

at the edge of the tree line.

She is staring at you with

big eyes.

She has just come up out of

the creek, mouth still dripping with water.

She has satisfied her panting.