When the road comes to a “Y”

Driving straight for hours on I-5.
When suddenly the road comes to a “Y”
Cars in front and cars behind you
No meridian to pull over onto
No time to stop and think
Missed the sign must have blinked.

Home is less than an hour away
and that direction is straight.
 Must turn left or right
 for soon it will be night
No landmark in sight
of what’s on the other side.

At 70 miles per hour with 4 lanes going each way
cars were bumper to bumper
it was that rush hour time of day.

Turning right is heading east and that can go a long way.
Turning left will soon end
because ocean is in the way.

In decision I make it quick no time to waste
Beeping horns at me as I cross over all 4 lanes.
I turn left towards the ocean from there my home is 20 miles away.
I’m thinking that’s my plan
I will be ok.

In the direction that I went
I had an idea of where I was feeling confident.

Decided to pull over at the first chance I get.
But There was no exit.
I drove and drove for over an hour before I saw a road.
By then it was dark outside
anxiety was in the mode.

But the place where I turned off had a really bad feeling.
I made sure my doors were locked.
There were homeless men lurking
on corners of every street
No street lights, no signs, it made it hard to see.
I could not risk a moment to stop
so I found the nearest exit
and back on the freeway I got.

It’s hard to drive and navigate at the same time
if only I could stop to clear my mind.
But now I find a bridge I must cross
a toll is due this time.
Driving and digging in my purse
but all I could find was a dime.

It was like Jason and the argonauts
the gods were playing a game of chess
and there I was all caught up in in a mess.
In the middle of San Francisco
very stressed,
It’s like I’m being pushed to pass a test.

By the time I got home I was exhausted and tired.
Anxiety and stress had now expired.
I made it home and I’m alive.
What should have been one hour
turned into a three hour drive.

If I would have turned right when that road came to a “Y”
the road looped around and went straight again.
That’s what I wanted in the beginning.

I wonder how many others have done the same thing.
That was a day I will be remembering.
To stay to my right at all times.
and avoid unknown roads to drive
so I won’t be asking “why?”
when the road comes to a “Y”