Broken Roads

I turned the key, and silence was all I heard,

     engine sputtered, then failed me on a street,

     my plans all scattered, my heart lightly stirred,

     confronting the distance, feeling the heat.

Rain drizzles down, pooling near the wheels,

     steam rising softly, heat against the gray,

     a moment of truth, the weight of my feels,

     lost between places, routine in dismay.

I step out, breathe deep, the sky heavy, pale,

     and wonder if distance is simply a choice,

     or just a reminder that life's a frail tale,

     where the road beneath crumbles, erases my voice.