On Tuesday of this week, Gordon Patterson was struck and killed by a hit and run driver while riding his bike home from work along St. Johns Road in Vancouver, WA.
Hit and Run
4 pm
September 15, 2009
St. Johns Road
Gordon Patterson
Age 50
should not happen
one too many stricken
in hapless ways
by thundering herds
underneath hooves of
inflated rubber
two tons or more
steel and glass
crush their smaller cousins
accidental swerve
clipped by a side mirror
maimed, flattened
killed
in a narrow lane
off the sidewalk
in a neighborhood
like ours
like yours
plant a ghost bike
on the spot
wear a helmet
say “be careful”
to loved ones
ride the risk
this is a bike town
that lacks respect for
two-wheeled friends
reflected by high beams
in moonlight
it wasn’t Gordon’s time
not on a Tuesday afternoon
neither late summer nor early fall
just a beautiful afternoon
when an 18 year old driver
lifted him to the sky
phantom wings carried him home
up the hill
a final time
what a tragic death, this poem is a wonderful tribute, the last stanza is so moving...
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