A Taxi Driver on His Death

A poem about Road Accident

Title: A Taxi Driver on His Death

Author: Timothy Wangusa

When with prophetic eye I peer into the future
I see that I shall perish upon this road
Driving men that I do not know.
This metallic monster that now I dictate,
This docile elaborate horse,
That in silence seems to simmer and strain,
Shall surely revolt some tempting day.

Thus I shall die; not that I care
For any man’s journey,
Nor for proprietor’s gain,
Nor yet for love of my own.
Not for these do I attempt the forbidden limits,
For these defy the traffic-man and the cold cell,
Risking everything for the little, little more.

They shall say, I know, who pick up my bones,
“Poor chap, another victim to the ruthless machine”—
Concealing my blood under the metal.

Comment:

This poem gives an insight to drivers state of mind and how many of them consider an accident occurrence,it is very clear in this part of the world considering the common sight of drunk drivers.
Road accident claims a lot of live each year and Africa is mostly affected, the sad part is that most of it is usually due to the recklessness of the driver, drunk driving and nonchalant attitude of the driver and this leads to the death of many innocent lives.
It  reveals the daredevil attitude of drivers (many of them) and this will be a good warning to readers to carefully select good driver for any journey they wish to make and ignore drunk and arrogant drivers, this will not only change the attitude of drivers but will also be a first step in reducing road accident occurrence.
A driver must always be in the right sense and ready to live not like the imaginary driver depicted in this poem.

I found a very good literature review here. It will help you uncover the hidden gold in the poem