I thought Jesus had blown out my tire
like taking aim with a rubber band across the median
a line between homosexual thoughts SNAP homosexual actions
one last warning shot before damnation

I felt the thunk before I saw it
shaking the entire Subaru
thick black rubber spiraling off behind me in the rearview mirror
on my way out of town

I couldn’t tell if it was a part of me
or some other car ahead
or how I could have overlooked something that big in the road
but when I got to her house, I circled the car a half dozen times
looking for a missing piece
that wasn’t there

and when I was kissing her that afternoon
my shirt on the floor and her pants unzipped
all I could think of was Jesus and the tire
and her husband downstairs
and my husband at home with the baby
and what he would say
if he knew
about the car.