Kaikora nightmare

 I crashed just out of Kaikora
A place later to be destroyed by great earthquakes
I fell asleep and created a trauma
That would last me to my current day

those roads seemed endless
curve after curve
It was nearing 6am
morning punching in the face

The barrier I busted
Break pedal floored
Losing my life if just a second late
ironically just before a tunnel

One of many
That followed each nauseous curve
into a darkness
and a rocky thickness

So rough ghosts migh clutch on
and drop into a car a mid a family fight
or a lonesome driver such as I
destined to crash and get stuck 

In small town where the frost
was given an all day pass
The salt air and cold ganged up
Unwelcome was the feeling

And the sarcastic smirk of the mechanic
subtle metallic clank medievil like
The tussock leather like
and other plants thick frosty foliage

Here the rich and idealistic come to watch the whales
tourist guides are motivation in short sharp bursts
Hiking boots with colored laces
weathered grins stuck upward

Tatoos and bragging until the surface wood of the town houses
are varnished by it all, almost protecting it from the salt
but not really

Because it's what eats you from the inside that destroys you