Night Roads by Peter J. King

when the rain’s between
                                           fast wipers
               and                    slow intermittent
               or
               when it’s coming down so hard
                                             the fastest speed can’t cope
                            the windscreen now a waterfall
                    oncoming headlights just a glare
                                                                     then 
                                                shadows out beyond the verges
                                                            take on mass
                                                                   are transubstantiated
                                                                              into things of heft
                                                                material effect

                             you’ve glimpsed them sometimes
                                    and dismissed them
                                                      figments          flickering
                                                               between the trees or hedges

                                                         try not
                                                  to be caught short
                                           to stop and walk
                                    a little way
                             to stand
                      back to the passing cars
               presenting such a tempting tidbit
                                             to the darkness.



Peter J. King was born and brought up in Boston, Lincolnshire.  Active on the London poetry scene in the 1970s as writer, performer, publisher, and editor, he returned to poetry in 2013 after a long absence, and has since been widely published in magazines and anthologies.  He also translates poetry, mainly from modern Greek (with Andrea Christofidou) and German, writes short prose, and paints.  His currently available collections are Adding Colours to the Chameleon (Wisdom’s Bottom Press) and All What Larkin (Albion Beatnik Press); his booklet Ghost Webs is due out from The Calliope Script later this year. Web site: https://wisdomsbottompress.wordpress.com.