I’m not really sure if he was rounding the corner 

He later told the police officers that he was just a sojourner – from Maryland 

It was part of his crew that had attached the trailer 

Next to the down telephone pole and lines and the backed up traffic, he felt like a failure 

More cops showed 

Ironcially enough with a tow truck in tow 

On a Thursday morning, he watched the cacophony of chaos grow 

School buses full of children, the produce truck headed to the local supermarket, a big truck full of the latest shipment to Target 

Intermingled with all the regular morning commuters 

The Honda Civics and the Teslas with their dashboard computers 

Everything stopped in a world short on time 

A few local residents came out of their houses to chime, “There’s no power!”

And the sun was rising fast 

The heat and humidity too 

The trailer on the driver’s truck had come unhinged 

And he didn’t know what to do 

Texts and calls went out from that block 

All traffic, all power, all activity was stopped 

Surgeries would have to be delayed 

Children couldn’t get together to play 

The vegetables would never be displayed

And all the ladies hoping to hit Target would be dismayed 

It was like a hurricane hit on a pretty day

When that trailer hitch went astray 

No one was hurt 

Just a small pocket of the world became inert 

Some hours later the road was still blocked 

So me and my pup parked on a side street outside the neighborhood and we walked 

The mile to our own house 

The steamy August air didn’t move an ounce 

He panted, I sweated 

All the way home I regretted how all of our roads are connected 

The power line workers looked dejected 

As the air conditioning-less neighbors protested 

Dominion turned out to not really be in control of anything 

People couldn’t get out to do their shopping

The downed telephone poles and power lines didn’t seem to rush 

Nah, they took their sweet time

As if out of touch

Back at my house, the inside was warm 

The lights, the TV, the internet 

How I was so forlorn

A few neighbors meandered the sidewalks 

While others just drove around the blocks

Would any of us talk? 

Yeah, I talked to one guy who also had to walk back to his house because of the obstructed street

He was actually quite friendly (didn’t notice till it was too late that my dog took some of his chicken to eat)

I saw a neighbor take in another’s trash can 

A few people offered rides in their minivans 

Back at home as I sat sweating

My printer in the back room made a shuddering sound 

Then the AC kicked on – a blast of cold air!

I was lifted out of my despair

And best of all, I saw Alexa’s glowing teal-blue light 

I knew that everything in the world was alright

I walked out to the main road to observe

Crews finally cleared out that downed pole and lines 

What is it that humans in the 21st century deserve?

Police officers moved the cones, indicating it was time

After seven hours things fizzled out 

Traffic no longer had to reroute 

After things were unhinged 

I saw where humanity begins 

The man who’d driven the truck that hit the pole 

Sighed and said, “There is no such thing as an individual sole”

As all the neighbors, first responders, and commuters carried on as always 

On the roads, in the internet lines that maze 

Target and Tesla and Food Lion 

Honda and hospitals 

The elderly that scuffle and the kids on the bus that giggle 

Surgeons and sewer workers 

The meek, the defiant 

The truth is: no one is disconnected or self-reliant