A Second Chance Poem by Jason Summers

I decided to go to a party with friends I've known for years
And the first thing I noticed was a tub full of beers.
I grew up believing I could hold my own with a few
But a few became too many as the length of the party drew.
I began to stumble and check out women up and down
I finally got the hint that my friends didn't want me around.
Making my way to the door I heard, 'please, give me your keys.'
I turned and said, 'don't bother, ' as I dropped to my knees.
A pain in my stomach made me spit out every last dropp of beer
I stood up, dusted off, and grabbed a couple more before I nearly fell out of there.
Still behind me was that woman begging, 'stop! You're in no condition to drive.'
I opened the door and said, 'watch me, ' as she slowly closed her eyes.
I carelessly weaved in-between the yellow and white lines
Not realizing I couldn't keep it steady, like the car had it's own mind.
I sped around corners not knowing what lie ahead
I glanced down for just a second and noticed I was going over a hundred.
I looked up to lights blinking, a horn blaring, and a van moving left and right
I slammed on my brakes as quickly as I could and brought my arms up to block my sight.
We hit head on and I was thrown from my car
I lay sprawled out and unconscious but not far.
I woke up wondering what had happened and where I had been
I looked up and saw something I could never imagine.
Two cars that were fused into one,
Where one had ended the other had begun.
A mangled mass of steel composed of shattered glass
Tires had blown from impact and the engines fumed like steam baths.
I stood up the best I could, my head bleeding, my left arm lay at my side,
Instantly I sobered up and limping to the van I looked inside.
A husband and wife lay motionless from the best that I could see
I looked a little harder and there lay a boy no older than three.
I cried and screamed before falling to my knees,
'How could this happen? It should have been me.
What kind of God are you to let me live and them die? '
And before I spoke again I heard a baby cry.
I broke out a window and took her from her seat,
She trembled and cried just wanting to eat.
I checked her for cuts and breaks just to be sure,
Not a scratch on her, the family's sole survivor.

My day had come when the judge was called in
No witness had come forward but my future looked grim.
I stood up before him as he spoke strict and stern,
'This is the price you'll pay and a lesson you'll learn.
There is no relative living for this baby girl
So, by order of the court and your previous record of good will
I sentence you to 7 years in prison and 5 on parole
And prior to your release you'll have a fatherly role.
You will raise this child as if she were your own
Then tell her the truth of her life once she is grown.
On the night you drove off without a moment to pause
You will now deal with the guilt and the grief for yourself you have caused.
Case closed.'

For the lives I've taken God has given me a second chance to set things right
Now with a baby girl I must call my own I'll begin a new life.