Accidental Report
Rent from DeepDyve- Accidental Report
The birdsong crossed you out. Traveling northbound on I-95, center lane. The barking dogs crossed you out. Begins to veer to the left due to operator difficulty. A single, skeletal roadside phlox swaying in truck-wind crossed you out. Operator rubs the guide rail and stops vehicle on left shoulder. Your angora socks, your Aquascutum crossed you out. Victim's emotional and physical status: unconscious. The Kool menthols & the Hershey bars crossed you out. Apparent contributing factors: operator illness. The Exit 4 diner, the smell of Sunday-morning bacon crossed you out. Daylight conditions. Road conditions clear. The bare trees, the impending snowstorm, the passing lonely towns, all crossed you out. Upon arrival identified operator, male, age 61, New Hampshire driver's license #34298. The beeping of your unanswered pager crossed you out. Medics try resuscitating heart attack victim in field. The slowly driving onlookers crossed you out. Operator no longer breathing. All present-tense verbs crossed you out. Car and contents have been impounded at the State Police barracks. [End Page 127]
Elizabeth Powell is the author of The Republic of Self, winner of the 2000 New Issues First Book of Poetry Prize, chosen by C. K. Williams. Her work has appeared in the Harvard Review, North American Review, Hunger Mountain Review, Black Warrior Review and other journals. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Vermont Council on the Arts (in poetry and fiction), Arts Vermont Endowment and Yaddo. She teaches at the University of Vermont, Saint Michael’s College and the New England Young Writers’ Conference.
