Forgive me, O thou Queen of roads,

in SUV of spotless white,

whose driving skills excel them all

in wisdom, speed and flawless might. 

Forgive me; I am but a worm

who never shouldst have braved the road

at all, and much less in a bus—

that crawling, large,  obstructive load. 

Forgive me, O my Lady, please,

that thy fair foot hath lately been

forced to touch that hideous thing—

the pedal of the brakes. My sin! 

Forgive the turning out into 

thy lane (though, truly, there was space). 

Thy tire tread must be the first; 

I should have known my place. 

Forgive the caution ‘round the curve

where cars beset on every side;

Forgive the stop-sign stop so long

where dogs and walkers often hide. 

Please, my Queen, have mercy! Forgive—

for I have sinned egregiously.

Thy wrath, in mighty trumpet blows,

hath ‘wakened, taught, and beaten me. 

And I repent: I ought have sworn 

off laws, have struck the pedestrian down, 

have smashed her dog into the earth.

For thee and thee alone, the crown! 

Indeed, thy truth I must confess:

to coming traffic, yea, for thee, 

I ought have hurled myself so thou

mightst half a minute earlier be.