Don't Slow Down!

My wrist hit first, and then my ribs. The gravel keeps me where I fell. Far off, an engine takes the road. A warning climbs into my mouth. I hear the engine drop a gear. The headlights swing across the ditch. And kindness is a slowing sound. Don't slow down. Keep your tires on the road. Don't slow down. A sound like me is how it starts. Don't slow down. Take your headlights past the ditch. Let me be the only one. I slowed down for a sound like mine. It lay just where I'm lying now. My engine's dead up on the road. Now I'm the sound that slows you down. The engine drops another gear. Your headlights cross me in the ditch. I make my hurt sound like a threat. Don't slow down. Keep your tires on the road. Don't slow down. A sound like me is how it starts. Don't slow down. Take your headlights past the ditch. Let me be the only one. I clamp my mouth around the sound. I swallow it like stones. All that's left to hear is you. Don't slow down. Keep your tires on the road. Don't slow down. Your taillights going up the grade. Don't slow down. The engine climbing out of reach. You never heard the only one. Two red lights small along the road. The gravel sharp against my ribs. My mouth stays shut around the rest. And no one slows for me.