Herd Behavior

 

Running down the highway

The darkness of the night flying past

As the headlights of other cars

Floats all around us

I sit still and silent in the back

Head against the window

Starring into the starless sky

Covered by invisible clouds

Unaware and unconcerned of the destination

Simply there for the ride

A fish among thousands

Swimming blindly in a school of cars

Then the darkness brightens

As a sea of red lights emerge ahead

I look up from my daze

To see what has changed

And the wheels slow to a crawl

Inching along, bumper to bumper

With others just as puzzled as I am

“What’s going on? Where am I now?”

All these thoughts creep into my head

“Just another crash,” I think

“Nothing to be concerned about”

But still I worry, the suspense swelling up

As we move even slower

But then the line starts to move

And we begin to accelerate

A dim glow in the distance

As we approach the problem

Sitting on the side, all alone off the road

Is another car, or at least it was

Engulfed in and inferno of red

The body of the car can just be seen

Between the flickering flames

Reaching into the night

Sitting eerily by itself

As if nothing had happened 

The flames seem to grow

Brighter and higher as we drive past

And I can feel the heat of the flames

Radiating through the car door

Almost afraid we may catch

Scared and curious, I peer into the front seat

Almost expecting to see someone

Sitting still at the wheel

But all I see is flames, eating=2 0up the seat

And I look back, worried about the person inside

Did they get out, are they OK?

Can I do anything to help?

I jiggle the handle, but my door is locked

I am trapped inside my own car

Unable to help as we cruise along the road

With dozens of others doing nothing

I look back at the fire

Slowly fading into the distance

Behind hundreds more

Too busy ignoring the catastrophe

And following the crowd

Along the empty road, into the night

Until it is there time to pull off

And they must watch as the rest of the cars

Speed off without a care

Supported by the silent pressure

Of the cars around them.