Before Iftar (Part 2)

(image credit)

I moved to Dubai in August 2006, and one of the first things my friends told me, on my first Ramadan that year, was to be careful when driving home in the afternoon.  Muslims may be so hungry that they feel sluggish or irritable on the road.  Apparently there is an uptick of accidents during the holiday.

Two drivers jostle with their speeding cars –
One is apparently not happy with
The other's purposeful refusal to
Shift to the slower lanes and, what is more,
His dangerous tap on the brakes, forcing
The first as well to slam the brakes into
A screech as loud as his increasing rage.
The other driver speeds away, perhaps
Smug in his momentary satisfaction.
The first gives chase, and does his payback bit –
They weave from lane to lane, into the distance
Faster and smaller than the rest of us.
A few kilometers away, there is
An accident – thank God, the drivers look
To be just fine, and the police is there.
These two are not the drivers whom I saw
Before – so then I pray their tempers cool.
I pray, should any accident occur,
That God keep it a minor incident. 

Before Iftar (Part 2) © Ron Villejo