Alternate Routes

He was crazy.
We all knew that.
All his talk of strange exotic lands 
     he would someday run away to proved it,
Since it was well known
That here was the only place there was.
Still, he could be quite convincing
So we had to keep reminding ourselves
That he was crazy.

Further proof:
One night late, driving home from a party or something,
As he approached the curve in the road
We saw him signal to turn right.
He tried to explain about another road to the left
They had taught us not to see
But that only proved
How crazy he was.

And so we went,
Being careful not to look too hard as we passed the curve,
Until
One night late, driving home from a party or something,
As he approached the curve in the road
We saw him signal to turn left
And vanish.  

We all stood there, 
Telling each other that we could see,
Way down in the canyon,
His flaming wreckage.
I felt it best not to mention
That to me the faint red glow
Looked more like tail lights
Dwindling toward the horizon.

                                        Thomas G. Digby
                                        written 0420 hr  5/17/80
                                        entered 2115 hr  2/08/92