"Sirens in the Distance"

 

            Before this morning’s freezing daybreak, emergency sirens sounded in the distance. Sympathy seeped into my waking thoughts. With all of the construction surrounding our home, that wail signals an accident on the highway. Someone’s day sucks before sunrise. The single scream lasts only seconds as a second and third join in with discordant harmony.

            My imagination transports me to the scene where crumpled cars with unpaid balances block the road. The incessant red and white of flashing ambulance lights dance in the soft morning light. Police honoring their code to protect and serve hover nearby. Fire trucks stand alert. The injured drivers and passengers, attached to monitors, get loaded and zip away.

           

            What tragedy awaits these people? Vehicles demolished beyond repair. One trip to an emergency room, even with insurance, costs too much. An accident caused by one second of inattention in a high construction area, and every person impacted faces financial disaster. I don’t allow myself to envision death within the destruction.

 

            I don’t attend to the returning siren songs as my morning routine pushed away their lament. Only now, with my mug of hot tea and keyboard before me, do I wonder and worry about the sorrows of these strangers.

Daylight and still dangerous!

 

Copyright 2025 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman