14 men on a journey
On a tarred double lane
To a journey far and beyond
Where the sky and land meet

Aboard the metal box
A wreck of a traveling tool
With wheels with no grip
And a mouth that coughs black

Aboard the metal box
Is a seat of three for four
Even though full to the brim
It swallows more and more

14 men on a journey
Meet the man in blue
With a shaded cap atop
And a pot belly hanging

He waves for a halt
And the box sways beside
The fast journey slows
Like reverse crescendos

The man doesn’t utter
Demeanor suggests a tip
Consequential wrath awaits
For one who does not give

The engine hums some more
The wheels hug the ground
The box gets on track
And they’re off in a snap

A metal box carrying
14 men aboard
Is in haste for more trips
To collect more paper

So it twists and turns
To make time amend
It swirls and curls
And paces to the end

An inch amiss
It escapes by a whisker
But ahead is another
Metal box speedster

It skids, it slids
But inevitable is the fate
With a resounding thud
Two metal boxes met

Halfway through the journey
14 men lie
With torn torsos, and broken brains
This is their demise

The men in blue arrive
The road is made clear
To make way for others
With the hope of a promised land