judgement day

i remember

the fat vultures at the end 

of the route 5 

corridor heading east

to the eastern shore.

how they would

line up

like supreme court judges

in their oily

cloaks,

waiting for the next roadkill.

patient

on the side of the road,

wings clutched

to their sides,

talking to one

another

licking their chops

as a possum hesitates

coming out of the woods

and stops

between the dotted lines.

it's judgement

day all day along this stretch

of highway.