When you’ve been pummeled
By an air bag
You know you’ve been pummeled,
Laid low,
Decked,
Wiped out.

These “Million Dollar” Babies
Know how to strike.

Not to be outdone by seat belts,
The master bruise makers,
The Bags’ “one”, “two” combos
Do you in.

“Pow eeee”
Pink,white, maybe yellow, I can’t remember
They rush forth, blossom, deploy,
A shocking moment
That catches you unawares
No other surprise like it.

Well, perhaps surpassed only by
Smoke pouring from
The dash board.

In a moment of clarity
You see the instructions, and lots of them,
Printed helter-skelter on the inflated
Lifesavers.

Blessed little devils,
Sorry, no time to read.
Just jump, react,

Split second the moment.

For as they say,
“It could have been a lot worse.”

Charlene James
Amissville, Virginia
June 2, 2018