I knelt as if in prayer

my tire went bust today

I changed it there on the hot bank of the highway

rumble of passing steel

rampant clouds of exhaust

the sun laid into me with everything it had

I’ve changed tires before but boy

all these people passed and

no one stopped or even slowed

I guess I can’t blame them if they were

late for lunch or

whatever

the spare held all the way to the shop

and only wobbled

once.