Johanna Shapiro, PhD
12/15/11
We are sitting
drinking coffee, laughing
talking about our kids
The day is bright and happy
The air is crisp, the sky blue
the clouds white, the trees green
The people around us
are laughing too
glad to be
drinking coffee on such a day.
Then a thud
We all look up, laughter interrupted
First we see the car
at an unnatural angle
the driver already halfway out, lamenting
Other cars are stopping too
brakes squealing with annoyance
Only later do we see the kid
scattered in the crosswalk
the skateboard upside down
wheels still spinning