When I walk to work I always walk across a pedestrian crossing. It’s near a primary school so it’s always very busy at the time I cross it, with others walking to work like me, and parents taking their kids to school. Very often there are queues of cars waiting to pass as so many people cross it frequently. I sometimes enjoy watching people cautiously step out onto the crossing, waving and thanking drivers on each side of the road. It’s probably a British thing isn’t it? That tendency to over-thank when someone does something relatively trivial for us, or in the case of a pedestrian crossing just not run us over with their car! Anyway there’s something cool about traffic stopping for you, about going first, about being the priority. This poem is about that.
![Crossing
I approach a pedestrian crossing.
The cars on both sides of the road stop,
They stop for me.
So I step out. I take up space. I strut subtly.
I take my time, but not too much.
This is my moment.
Headlights become spotlights,
Raindrops become glitter.
An ordinary day becomes a parade.
I wave at each driver, nod my head.
Like I’ve won an award I’m walking to collect.
Like I’m waving to adoring fans,
Like I’m being papped.
Like the hum of car engines has become my standing ovation.
My heart swells.
It feels good to be seen.
It feels good to be noticed.
It feels good to go first sometimes.
It feels good when the traffic stops, just for you.](https://www.jodolby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Crossing-POEM.png)