Death’s driver

She ran,
but I ran faster,
breathless on clompy-clumsy big feet
catching her skipping tippy-tappy toes at asphalt’s edge,
my meaty mitt clamping down hard on her shoulder and pulling her back to the curb.
Too late, death made its missing grab for her,
hiring a careless teen chauffer,
and riding shotgun.
Teen foot pushing too hard the accelerator and turning
truck two-wheeling,
the hearse-colored thundering hot rod exhaled
foul [...]