Flashing Lights

It’s just an ordinary summer day 

I’m driving the kids to the park
When I see the flashing red and blue ahead
Suddenly I’m struggling to breathe
My heart’s beating too fast
I wonder if I can detour my car

I’m caught back in that summer night four years ago...
Mom was driving when we passed it
She was shaking so I offered to drive
My emotions turned off; robotic
I saw the twisted metal of broken cars
Emergency vehicles all over
Flashing lights

This was the place my husband lost his life
Though his death had not been
Revealed to me yet

My husband
My lover
Daddy to my babies
My best friend
My teenage dream
Lifeless on an ER stretcher

I’m sucked back to today
To the task at hand
Drive your kids to the park, Aimee
Press the tears back down into their wells
Swallow the flashback

This is trauma