Jumper Cables


Some things, I think, you only do for friends.
I think this as I drive through chilly night
to meet my closest one, in need. She bends
as if refracted through twin beams of light,

to reach beneath the hood. I stand behind
reading directions off a cardboard box --
I am the nervous one. "You have to find
the anode", I instruct, "or else the shock

wont start the car." Strung from her battery,
almost umbilically, the cord connects
to mine. So as she rolls her eyes at me
I laugh, knowing the fact this night reflects:

that we, like electricity, may stand at odds, apart,
but come together perfectly when there are things to start.




Ali Fischer