gridlock

in this metal river 
we're all adrift
engines humming a collective sigh
the red sea of brake lights flickers
a mosaic of halted lives

i'm just trying to get home
but the clock's hands are frozen
and so are we 
in this gridlock

there's a symphony of horns
an impromptu urban orchestra
playing the soundtrack of impatience

the guy in the sedan is on a call
frustration etched in his furrowed brow
a mirror to my own vexation

a child peers out from a backseat window
eyes wide 
finding wonder
in the standstill that adults despise

we inch forward 
a slow dance
of stop-and-go 
a tango with time

i can't help but think
in this tangle of streets and schedules
we're all just seeking a path
a clear stretch of road ahead
but here we are 
together yet alone
in the paradox of rush hour's crawl

the city breathes around us
and we 
its blood cells 
are stuck
in the arteries of progress

so I sit 
and I wait
and I dream of open roads