Carol Ponting has two friends, both young drivers, who have been involved in road crashes.  It inspired her to write this poem.

Lads looking cool, lads looking good,

Lads in their flash car, doing all they could

To pull the girls, to attract attention.

Rival guys, defying  all convention,

Driving around with their music full on.

The four of them singing a rugby song.

Windows down so we all can hear.

Trying to impress. They’ve been on the beer.

The beat reverberates the whole of the street,

Intimidating the old, the young and the weak.

Then they decide to take a further spin.

A great idea with the mood they are in.

They charge through the lanes, like bats out of hell,

Driving like crazy and not very well.

Taking the bends and swerving around,

Enjoying the music, enjoying the sound.

They head for the motorway, they love the speed.

Adrenalin buzzing, the freedom they need.

They can’t wait to get there, a lorry’s ahead.

They wiz around it, then they see red,

The car approaching, a woman’s face,

The blast of a horn, then nothing but haze.

The split second crashing and thunderous noise,

The mangled bodies of those beautiful boys,

Thrown through the windows, the lads in the back,

Not wearing seat belts, that was a fact.

Then the crying and screaming of voices nearby,

The lorry driver holding the woman, watching her die,

The wail of the sirens, maybe too late.

Their bloodied bodies were cut from the wreck,

There were howls of pain and one broken neck

But one lad was silent and limp as can be.

No rugby songs now and no longer free.

"Life in Rhyme" by Carol Ponting, is available on Google, Amazon  or by ordering from Waterstones.