"All My Pretty Ones" (4)

Part 4

In traffic once, I shuddered when I saw

A mother at the wheel, her little daughter

Standing behind needing to be looked after,

Clearly without seatbelt.  I was in awe –

For the interior lights were on, and more,

The Mom was on the mobile long before!

This one took the cake, as I truly shuddered at the sight.  It was triple whammy risk that this mother took:  (1) by not making sure her daughter stayed seat belted; (2) by keeping the interior lights on – various images reflect on the windscreen, side and back windows, all of which can hinder the driver’s vision; and (3) of course by talking on the mobile, preventing her from paying attention to her daughter’s and her own safety.  To top if off, they were headed toward Sheikh Zayed road!

From "All My Pretty Ones," Part 4 © Ron Villejo

Note. I wrote this four-part poem in March 2009, when I was living in Dubai.  It was an accounting of things I saw parents do, in relation to their children, which made me shudder.  The title, “All my Pretty Ones,” comes from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” uttered by the shocked Macduff when he heard that Macbeth had his wife and children killed.