Stuck

The road has grown icy, slick.
Wet, muddy.
Rocky.
Difficult,
But manueverable.
Then suddenly,
Without warning,

Stuck.
Hopelessly stuck.

Tried to avoid it,
Jerked the wheel to miss it,
but slid sideways,
lurched headlong,
fishtailed crazily
into it anyway.

Wheels still rolling, but
Going nowhere.
Shifting,
Rocking forward an inch,
Then stopping.
Shifting again.
Rocking backward
A negiligble distance,
But stopping again,
Dropping back into
That same place.
And still stuck.

Pressing down
Hard with hope.
Grinding with passion,
Whirring in desperation,
Throwing back great,fan-shaped showers
Of dust.
Of slush.
Of muck.
Of gravel.
But still,
Gaining no ground
Going nowhere.

Pedal to the floor,
Motor turning faster,
And faster, and faster.
Gears shifting
backward and forward
But no ground gained.
Only
Acrid, bitter, acrid
Burning
Smell of rubber
Of sweat
Of desperation.

Trying to move,
Trying to pull out.
Fishtailing,
Lurching,
Rocking,
But going nowhere still.

Heart racing,
Mind whirling
Palms sweating
Desperation,
Frustration,
Anxiety .
Anger
roiling, boiling,seething
Making things worse.

Thoughts,
So many benign
Futile thoughts and ideas
Too jumbled
Too meaningless
In the midst of
Useless, fruitless, obscenity-laden fury.
And Still going nowhere.


Stop.


Hands from the wheel.
Shift into park
Foot from the pedal.
Idle the engine
While you
Breathe
Regroup
Relax

And then,

Get out
Look
From another perspective
See
From another angle
Judge
With an objective eye


Try again.


Straighten the wheel,
Which straightens the tires.
Put it in gear.
Press down,
Gently.
Slowly,
Slowly press down.

Find the path
Feel the grip
Take joy in the pull.
Rejoice in the forward jerk.

Ease forward
Toward the path.
Ease forward.
Drop into the track.

Go.
Proceed.
Out of the slippery rut,
Up from the slick-sided hole.
Advance.

Back out onto the open road,
Writing once again.