Road Kill Girl

Sometimes I ponder mortality
while crossing Amsterdam Avenue

I stand inches from death
as the cars whiz by me,
they blow my hair in my face
My hair swims around me
a tangled crown of auburn.

the truck drivers stare at me,
confused

I'm the small girl
in her father's jacket
and her older brother's hiking boots
talking to herself.
No, no, singing to the soundless music
coming from taped headphones.

Would anyone ever miss me?
if I stepped in front of a speeding truck?
Taken away, turned into road kill?
What a pity, the evening news would say.
unidentified girl mowed down by a speeding truck.
Have you seen Jane Doe?
Do you know Jane Doe?
they would ask
someone would eventually come forward.
telling the world I'm homeless, a bum,
a junkie.
The sympathy would die down,
no one would care anymore.
not for a homeless junkie
what if no one came forward?
I'd be forever known
by the numbered tag on my toe.

Maybe there'll be a bigger story
Not enough time for
Nameless Homeless Junkie Road Kill Girl.