10/29/2010

Poem29. A Traffic Block

A Traffic Block

I was driving with family one  day,
through the unfamiliar roads happily,
we reached a busy junction slowly,
where each one was waiting impatiently.

Waiting in a row behind a big red wagon,
suddenly had a notion, I was in the row wrong .
I felt I had to go the other way turn;
so took the turn through the way wrong.

The opposite signal turned green
all the vehicles started  to horn.
I was struck in a quandary,
without a way to go forward.

I was in the middle of traffic,and
was making a traffic block.
Vehicles from all sides ,
started coming towards me.

Then the fear struck,
everything went blank,
sounds seemed distant,
breathing difficult,
started sweating.

Thought that moment would not end
not knowing what to do,
how to get out of the mess,
people started making noises.

How I don't know, but somehow;
put the car to the side maximum;
made space to pass a vehicle slow,
slowly the vehicles went along.

The mistake was mine,
nobody to blame,
the moment passed;
and I was back atlast.

Written for the Poet United's prompt -'Fear' .
For other poet's entries on the same prompt click here.

Entered for Jingle's  poetry potluck.
Entered for Writer's Island -Prompt #29 for 2010: Quandary

32 comments:

Deborah said...

A horrible situation that I can really identify with and the poem speaks so much of our daily life, the crossroads, being stuck,the panic, pressure from all sides, very well written.

Ella said...

Crossroads and pressure; I'm feeling that now~ You painted panic, really well~ Great Job!

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Well done, I know that feeling and you captured it exactly.

Mary said...

This sounds very scary. At least you are admitting it was your fault and not blaming others. And at least in the end all turned out all right. Nicely written.

Wysteria said...

Oh my, I have had this happen to me!!

I am prone to panic attacks and the first one I ever had was while driving. I understand this poem completely. Great Job!

Wysteria

ana said...

Wow, I felt the fear in this. Glad it had a happy ending!

Dasuntoucha said...

Interesting poem...glad you made it out of the traffic block in one piece. (^_^)

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

awesome reflections.
it give people insights and warnings.
well done.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/halloween-party-at-jingle-poetry-monday-poetry-potluck-tomorrow/

Happy Halloween to you.
Hope to see you at our poetry potluck Halloween party tonight. Post a poem on Halloween, or share an old poem unrelated to the theme, link in as soon as we are open, that’s how you get the best result of feedback.
Feel free to take any awards from this post, enjoy!
xxx

Judy Roney said...

I can sure feel the fear in this poem. It sounded like a panic attack and I can understand in such a stressful situation. Glad everything turned out well though and you (or person in your poem) was safe.

eyeography said...

Wonderfully portrayed fear...
Thanks for sharing...

Shail Raghuvanshi said...

It happens all the time here Rashmi. Nice poem.

Shashidhar Sharma said...

Dear Rashmi
Very simple and beautiful verse, I enjoyed reading it. I could feel the fear that you had and being an Indian, I could also relate to the way people would have reacted towards you, adding to your pressure... Good one. HOwever, I would like to add my thought as well as you are well on your path to write nice verses, I would suggest that use your deeper feelings, create a sense of mystery, use the first part to develop the content in such a way to get the people ready for what you are going to bring out in the end. Focus on surprise, creating a metaphore as you go along... read some Haiku's, they are very good in creating image with words...use your word as paint brush to create an image... or a body for an emotion.. hope you would not mind me suggesting this to you, but as I read your profile, I thought you could use a tip or two as a bgninner...
Let me say it again, your verse is very nice.

ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
Twitter: @VerseEveryDay
Blog: http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

Thanks for linking.
Happy Belated Halloween.

Anonymous said...

honk! honk! now get out of my way! oops! and thats my usual curse on the road haha!

Anonymous said...

very ususal, and all the better for it!
Enjoyed reading and visiting!

http://jessicasjapes.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/halloween-fright/

Bubba said...

Ah-hah! So it was YOU! (LOL!)
Nice Potluck entry, Rashmi!

P.S. - You could always start a 2nd blog for your recipes.

डा0 हेमंत कुमार ♠ Dr Hemant Kumar said...

Very attractive and phylosphical post....
Hemant

Carrie Van Horn said...

This is intense certainly something we all fear....well done for the prompt! :-)

Eileen T O'Neill ..... said...

Rashmi,
The impact of your fear could be felt so much. Reality so obvious...

Eileen

Anonymous said...

Please help giving (belated) birthday wishes to 3 or 4 fellow poets:

http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/happy-birthday-eric-dom/

Thanks a lot for the support.
Happy November!
Your presence adds light to our space, keep shining!
xxx

Anonymous said...

poem is a good fit for a prompt on fear! wow...intense...and well written!

write on!

Jingle said...

http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/thursday-poets-rally-week-32-november-4-10/

week 31 perfect poet award reminder,
let me know if you accept,
thanks a ton.
welcome to rally week 32.

Kavita said...

If this is a true story, then the experience must have been quite horrifying!!! But I am glad you were able to get out of it without incident... it could have been worse, after all!

Very descriptive piece.. I felt I was there!!! Don't ever want to be though!!

Tilly Bud said...

A very scary moment.

There is something charming about your language structure; I really like it.

Anonymous said...

This poem fits the Writers Island quandary prompt perfectly. I can empathise with this - I used to be a real scaredy-cat of a driver, and a hopeless navigator when on my own.

Unknown said...

that was you? ;)

Ughh...we've all been there and hopefully we haven't been back

Amanda Moore said...

I could feel the tension in you writing now I am stressed! LOL! great writing!

Mary said...

Oh, Rashmi, that sounds so scary. Your poem is well written, as it certainly builds a feeling of panic in the reader. Nice work!

kaykuala said...

Traffic jams! It'll happen all the time, more so when you are in a hurry. You have to keep your cool because others don't normally do.
You did it brilliantly!

Hank

http://swiftletz.blogspot.com/2010/11/im-at-odds.html

faith said...

Scary! At least you owned up to it. :)

ninotaziz said...

The ordinary life painted so true. Well done.