A Guy in a Black SUV

As I slowly inch toward the toll booth
A guy in a black SUV
Cuts
In front of me

Pretends I’m not there
Simply edges forward
In his massive black machine

I mutter but I do nothing

However
If this guy had done
This
To my mother

She would
Without a second’s hesitation
Slam her car into his

Leap out
Of hers

Smash his windshield
With a crow bar
While swearing at him
Like a wild woman

And as the guy would
Jump out of his vehicle
Running toward her
Screaming
“Are you crazy?”
She would swiftly kick him in the nuts

And as he would crumble to the ground
Holding his privates
(This magnificent fury
Beyond his comprehension)
He would simply reiterate “Are
You crazy?”

What a woman
Notes:

This poem was previously published in African American Review (2007) and is reprinted here by permission of William J. Harris. It is part of the portfolio “I Hope You Like Being Here with Me: The Work of William J. Harris,” curated by Howard Rambsy II.

Source: Poetry (February 2023)
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