V8s all over Brookside Ave.
One growl rattles my kitchen
Which leads to my porcelain
Chargers and saucers to fall and break
And form uneven shapes
In miscellaneous sizes
On the marble checkered floor

I carefully walked on these pieces
Even though my steps became crunchy
As I head toward the blinds
To open them separately
And look through the window
And notice a murdered out 96 Lexus LS
At the red light by Centennial Ave
Revving up to 8000 rpm
A couple times
Until the green lit up

Suddenly, the sonic booms
From the two titanium mufflers
At the bottom of both ends
First came the shine,
Then came the torchblowers
Forming a 30 feet straight line of fire
On each lane
Marty McFly is now a ghost rider
While the LS burnout on first gear
And the tailights disappear
In the heavy white smoke,
But the roar
Wobbles my windows,
Then it breaks
As the shards pierce thru
My middle ears
Totaling my eardrums in the process

Now I hear a perpetual dolphin scream
I’m stiff from the neck down
And can only pan my head from left to right
As I gaze at the orange and blue sky
Above the flowing trees
A light pillar shot down
Thru the nimbus
And I spotted Shenron, 3 EVAs,
Tohru, Spyro, Swordfish 2, Dino megazord,
And all the other figures
That I’ve known from the television

Wait a minute…
Am I hallucinating now?

KRIS JANVIER is an artist and poet, author of Drift. “I’m a big fan of V8 engines,” he says. “When I was little, muscle cars were always my personal favorite to drive with from my PlayStation. I remember hearing the engines from a Mustang and Corvette and instantly getting hooked by their voices as they zoom by my house. Watching Nascar in Daytona was my introduction to motorsport, but also my first time hearing V8s.”