Peter Chapman Poetry

Panic

When something not just happens but mishappens it is good to be elsewhere.

1.

He had a career but wanted to teach so he studied and got ready. He was dyslexic. In the
classroom he panicked, fearing his students would read better than he. He lost sleep and
his fear taunted him one day in the car. He attacked his wife who was driving. He beat
her then dragged her from the car and was going to drown her when he felt the mishap
and stopped. She was terribly hurt and has lost bladder control. He's in jail, charged with
attempted murder.

2.

She was 17, smart and pretty. Her family never vacationed too far from home. She told
her mom she was going to stay at a friend's house then went to see her boyfriend. They
stayed out all night and fell asleep in her car. When they awoke they panicked. He drove
and she fell back asleep, in the back seat. He dozed off and they hit a tree, three trees,
four. She flew out the rear window and through the air with her legs open. Her parents
have found a surgeon who specializes in gender transformation to reconstruct her spoiled love.