Airbag
Airbags
Balloons
Zeppelins
All just glorified bags of air
Air contained
Air confined
Air within parameters
Air without freedom
Alia
I put my hand across your chest
but I couldn’t stop the collision;
in memory, the air has learned
to knock itself out,
and we lay in the alleys,
bruised ribs and bags
so large beneath our eyes
we will probably need to
put them on luggage carts,
next time.
Next time?
More “begin again”s
that end in tears frozen
to our faces, so when you
try and kiss them away
you just get stuck.
This is only why you’re here.
Were.
Recalled airbags.
That’s what we were driving with,
and maybe our notice just got
lost in the mail, the river,
between the couch cushions
or under your mattress.
We could monologue ifs:
“if we only knew what we know now”
“if we had paid more attention”
“if we could start again-”
but there is no again.
There is no next time.
There’s already been a crash
and I don’t want to be
the survivor that gets with
another survivor
simply because we have
living in common.
I do not want to get
with you, because then
we’ll have dying in common,
and everyone knows
you die alone.
My grandma always made me sit in the back seat in case the air bag went off and smothered me. We checked all of our Halloween candy for razor blades and never rode our bikes past the corner of Douglas Street. I haven’t gone outside in a skirt alone ever. Just in case. But I still wasn’t safe. Isn’t that funny?
Paige B
It was floating
No
It was inflating.
Wondered why it started inflating tho?
Maybe because that car crashed into mine?
But why?
Why still inflated when you can no longer save me?
potato sack
It went off like an airbag.
Shit.
One minute, I’m sitting, absolutely fine. It’s a normal day. Always a normal day.
Then the next minute, it isn’t. It went off. like a firecracker breaking the sky into two. like a siren screaming to be understood, to be validated. Like an airbag telling me that there’s been a terrible fucking accident.
breathe a sigh into the bag, it fills up with air
that’s what I do in the room, all alone sitting there
I wait and wait for the bag to pop but it doesn’t
it clones itself and now I’m left with a dozen
Inflatable device used in cars to prevent injuries to passengers in case of collision.
Rodolfo Janssen
Her face smashed against the airbag with alarming force. Pain shoots through her, stealing her breath her breath away that she can’t even scream. Her whole world rocks and
D. Ohera
keeps you safe, fluffy. Also a person who talks too much. I am not an airbag unless I have a few drinks… then you can’t shut me up. An Airbag can use an airbag in an accident. I hope to never see an airbag close up.
Kalini
This is what I think of most politicians. Except here’s the thing. Airbags are meant to save your life and protect you from slamming into a quick death as the windshield collapses your head. They do their job; they work; they save your life; they let you move on to the next thing and the thing after that. They let you go back to your family and church; to Thanksgiving and Christmas and meals with friends and laughter and walking the dog and changing the cat’s box. They let you continue on, maybe a bit more thankful for the life you have, even though you may think it could be better or you wish you had more money or better health. Politicians do none of these things. There’s not a single one of them that cares about anything but being re-elected and getting a salary and living well. They don’t work for me your you or anyone but themselves. They’ll sell you down the river in the blink of an eye and you’re paying them to do it. They are all airbags. But really, not. Because airbags serve a purpose. Politicians serve to remind us that we asked for it. And got it, big time.
rubyluby
The airbags deployed and i closed my eyes tight. i see my mommy and her head slamming against the seats falling helplessly. My bother and sister in the back seat begin to cry and all I can do is close my eyes. My head pounds and she isn’t waking up. from behind my they scream, “mommy mommy wake up.” They detach them selfs from the seats and climb forward. they shake mommy, but still she remains silent. At the time i was unaware that she was dead even though all the clues pointed to that fact. I reached into her pocket and fumbling I called the emergency services just like she had thought me to. They asked me where i was, how they could help me, but i didn’t need help mommy did. I tried my best to answer the calm mans questions, and with each passing question the man begins to realize. After what feels like forever of child screams I see the flashing light. Carefully they remove us from the car and zip mommy into a bag. They took us to a big building that smelled like medicine. The adults asked us many questions about our family and age. I told them almost everything I knew. with the adults i spoke for my siblings while they cried over mommy. I told them I was ten and then I realized maybe if it hadn’t been my birthday we wouldn’t have gone out for ice cream. Maybe then that sick man wouldn’t have driven into us. Maybe mommy would still be alive if I hadn’t been ten.
The airbag in my car is a thing I never thought about. I don’t think I ever did in all these years. But I don’t have a car anymore because I am not currently driving. I had a little seizure behind the wheel, so now I am a passenger in cars driven by others wherever it is that I go. I’ve never thought about their airbags either.
Crash! The airbag sprung out faster than I could blink, faster than I could hide behind my eyelids from the disaster happening in front of me, all around me. So fast, indeed, that I watched as it inflated and thrashed and lashed out to graze my naked eyeballs.
Olivia
The car swerved in front not looking before it pulled out. The van was totaled. Front end crunched up, and the air bags puffed out full of air.
Airbags are one modern invention that we are lucky to have. I know several people whose lives were saved by an airbag when their car was in an accident. The creation of side airbags has dramatically decreased injuries and deaths from side collisions (being t-boned). One does need to remember, though, to make sure his or her seat is properly adjusted to prevent injuries from the force of the airbag inflating during an accident. If you are petite or frail, airbags can break you sternum or ribs when inflating. But, that is a small price to pay compared to what could happen in a serious car accident.
that the best thing that saves lives because most people previously in accidents were killed by head trauma and since the idea of airbags came to light many many lives were saved.
Steve
Good safety device that sometimes causes injury. Food for thought about what else might fall into this category. Alternatively, someone who likes to hear themselves talk and who says nothing – like Trump.
Mary
we trapped the wind in the metal dogs and used it to preserve our lives.
The airbag didn’t really matter when the steering wheel was covered with broken glass. The glass was left by winter, and the tongues of clouds above.
‘Defective airbag confirms 10th death this year’ – the newspaper headline screamed. That was all she turned into – a statistical piece of information. He fought back tears of grief and guilt while quietly contemplating suicide. He had failed as a father.
life can be funny sometimes. You just don’t know what it is gonna throw at you next or if there will be an airbag to soften the blow. You gotta keep both eyes wide open AND TAKE IT LIKE A MAN.
The car swerved violently. She inhaled a Hail Mary as she kept her grip tight on the wheel. The momentum slowed and the car was still upright. No harm was done. She felt the tension in her body, though, and it wasn’t relieving. Oh wow. That was terrifying. What was that?
He feels a crackling sensation burning up his spine. The moment passes, and he feels nothing at all except for the cold, inflated object cushioning his head, which reeked from years of disuse and the build-up of mold. He is also dimly aware of the cold trail of liquid that flows down the front of his forehead. His eyelids fall shut.
Sunflower
He couldn’t believe it didn’t engage. Or maybe it did and it was burst. What would happen now? How had this happened? He would be blamed. He knew it. He didn’t think he could handle the consequences. Why did it have to be the passenger side. He wished it was his.
Sam
I used to want to crash just to see how airbags work. Shame on me.
Riv
They went off officer! But, there was no accident. I was rolling to a stop. I swear it! They just went off without an impact.
The police officer frowned and looked deep into my vehicle. “Your airbag is probably one of those defective models…You know. The ones that are being recalled!”
I thought about it. No! There had to be a better explanation. Someone was messing with my car.
Philip Raymond
The airbag in my car is very hot and it exploded because the car in front of us hit our car. it was so cool because the thing exploded in my face but then it was also very hot because there was fire. Oh my god there’s a fire in the car. We need to get out but no one is moving what do i do. The car is now in flames and i died.
I imagined him puffed up in anger and I imagined myself puffing up as well, mocking the old windbag… then he’d sputter and rage and I’d do the same. Have a taste, you old windbag. I have no patience for the authority of blowhards.
Zoe
an airbag protects people from car crashes. When a certain amount of pressure is applied to the car, the airbags explode to prevent people in the car from dangerous impact. Airbags can also be dangerous to drivers as the hard pressure can hurt people.
Rebecca Jett
Airbags, they weren’t original features. They were added in recent decades to prevent injury along with seat belts. But the best way to avoid injury is to fail to hit anything…
Alia
I awoke from my temporary numbness to find that the airbag had inflated, cushioning my forehead but not stopping the blood from trailing from a narrow cut along my jaw. Beside me, my cousin seemed fine – shaken, but fine – as my eyes readjusted to my surroundings. I remembered now: It was snowing, my vision had become compromised, and a lamppost from a distance had looked like a shining, moth-luring safe haven.
Belinda Roddie
they say they can save a life
but all i know is that mine suffocates me
once again reference my purse
plenty of room but filled by air
flying high across the sky
romance, wonder and awe
squeezed to the point of deflation
the pain, egregious loss, i die
poetwarrior
airbag.
i fill my lungs with air, and i think about you. there is nothing left here. and these lungs feel like an airbag, ready to burst when i crush.
i’ll be okay.
i think.
cally d
Marian was pretty sure that “new car smell” was her favorite scent in the world. The airbags had gone off before, and there was a scuff on the bumper, but this car was her baby, and she felt protective over it.
Then boom, all at once, in my face. We came to a quick stop, he must’ve pressed on the brakes a little too hard. my head in pain we sat in silence waiting for what was next..
I slammed on the breaks–thank god I have a decent car that has an airbag. (And the bunny even lived in the end.)
Audrey
i think it keeps people safe but its not such an overall good idea because of the danger it poses if you get stuck etc
Kathreyana
My nails dug into the steering wheel as I frantically pressed the breaks. Nothing was working. I prayed that the airbag would work. I closed my eyes and waited for the worst. As I lost control of the steering wheel, the car swerved into a tree. My head jerked forward, but I didn’t feel the pain of the steering wheel colliding with my head. Instead, a white bag met my vision. Relief flooded over me, as I sighed and thanked God for the airbag.
An airbag is an essential piece of equipment. It is often found in vehicles meant to transport persons. It’s function is to deploy in case of impact (i.e. an accident) and provide protection against injury to persons in the vehicle. It has helped reduced the mortality rate from accidents, although I’m not sure exactly by how much.
Airbag
Airbags
Balloons
Zeppelins
All just glorified bags of air
Air contained
Air confined
Air within parameters
Air without freedom
I put my hand across your chest
but I couldn’t stop the collision;
in memory, the air has learned
to knock itself out,
and we lay in the alleys,
bruised ribs and bags
so large beneath our eyes
we will probably need to
put them on luggage carts,
next time.
Next time?
More “begin again”s
that end in tears frozen
to our faces, so when you
try and kiss them away
you just get stuck.
This is only why you’re here.
Were.
Recalled airbags.
That’s what we were driving with,
and maybe our notice just got
lost in the mail, the river,
between the couch cushions
or under your mattress.
We could monologue ifs:
“if we only knew what we know now”
“if we had paid more attention”
“if we could start again-”
but there is no again.
There is no next time.
There’s already been a crash
and I don’t want to be
the survivor that gets with
another survivor
simply because we have
living in common.
I do not want to get
with you, because then
we’ll have dying in common,
and everyone knows
you die alone.
My grandma always made me sit in the back seat in case the air bag went off and smothered me. We checked all of our Halloween candy for razor blades and never rode our bikes past the corner of Douglas Street. I haven’t gone outside in a skirt alone ever. Just in case. But I still wasn’t safe. Isn’t that funny?
It was floating
No
It was inflating.
Wondered why it started inflating tho?
Maybe because that car crashed into mine?
But why?
Why still inflated when you can no longer save me?
It went off like an airbag.
Shit.
One minute, I’m sitting, absolutely fine. It’s a normal day. Always a normal day.
Then the next minute, it isn’t. It went off. like a firecracker breaking the sky into two. like a siren screaming to be understood, to be validated. Like an airbag telling me that there’s been a terrible fucking accident.
This is the airbag.
It saves lives.
It activates upon impact.
Unfortunately, in some cases, it fails.
It fails because the force from the outside is too great.
We have an airbag in our lives.
Say “Yes” or say “No”?
Make a choice.
breathe a sigh into the bag, it fills up with air
that’s what I do in the room, all alone sitting there
I wait and wait for the bag to pop but it doesn’t
it clones itself and now I’m left with a dozen
Inflatable device used in cars to prevent injuries to passengers in case of collision.
Her face smashed against the airbag with alarming force. Pain shoots through her, stealing her breath her breath away that she can’t even scream. Her whole world rocks and
keeps you safe, fluffy. Also a person who talks too much. I am not an airbag unless I have a few drinks… then you can’t shut me up. An Airbag can use an airbag in an accident. I hope to never see an airbag close up.
This is what I think of most politicians. Except here’s the thing. Airbags are meant to save your life and protect you from slamming into a quick death as the windshield collapses your head. They do their job; they work; they save your life; they let you move on to the next thing and the thing after that. They let you go back to your family and church; to Thanksgiving and Christmas and meals with friends and laughter and walking the dog and changing the cat’s box. They let you continue on, maybe a bit more thankful for the life you have, even though you may think it could be better or you wish you had more money or better health. Politicians do none of these things. There’s not a single one of them that cares about anything but being re-elected and getting a salary and living well. They don’t work for me your you or anyone but themselves. They’ll sell you down the river in the blink of an eye and you’re paying them to do it. They are all airbags. But really, not. Because airbags serve a purpose. Politicians serve to remind us that we asked for it. And got it, big time.
The airbags deployed and i closed my eyes tight. i see my mommy and her head slamming against the seats falling helplessly. My bother and sister in the back seat begin to cry and all I can do is close my eyes. My head pounds and she isn’t waking up. from behind my they scream, “mommy mommy wake up.” They detach them selfs from the seats and climb forward. they shake mommy, but still she remains silent. At the time i was unaware that she was dead even though all the clues pointed to that fact. I reached into her pocket and fumbling I called the emergency services just like she had thought me to. They asked me where i was, how they could help me, but i didn’t need help mommy did. I tried my best to answer the calm mans questions, and with each passing question the man begins to realize. After what feels like forever of child screams I see the flashing light. Carefully they remove us from the car and zip mommy into a bag. They took us to a big building that smelled like medicine. The adults asked us many questions about our family and age. I told them almost everything I knew. with the adults i spoke for my siblings while they cried over mommy. I told them I was ten and then I realized maybe if it hadn’t been my birthday we wouldn’t have gone out for ice cream. Maybe then that sick man wouldn’t have driven into us. Maybe mommy would still be alive if I hadn’t been ten.
The airbag in my car is a thing I never thought about. I don’t think I ever did in all these years. But I don’t have a car anymore because I am not currently driving. I had a little seizure behind the wheel, so now I am a passenger in cars driven by others wherever it is that I go. I’ve never thought about their airbags either.
Crash! The airbag sprung out faster than I could blink, faster than I could hide behind my eyelids from the disaster happening in front of me, all around me. So fast, indeed, that I watched as it inflated and thrashed and lashed out to graze my naked eyeballs.
The car swerved in front not looking before it pulled out. The van was totaled. Front end crunched up, and the air bags puffed out full of air.
Airbags are one modern invention that we are lucky to have. I know several people whose lives were saved by an airbag when their car was in an accident. The creation of side airbags has dramatically decreased injuries and deaths from side collisions (being t-boned). One does need to remember, though, to make sure his or her seat is properly adjusted to prevent injuries from the force of the airbag inflating during an accident. If you are petite or frail, airbags can break you sternum or ribs when inflating. But, that is a small price to pay compared to what could happen in a serious car accident.
that the best thing that saves lives because most people previously in accidents were killed by head trauma and since the idea of airbags came to light many many lives were saved.
Good safety device that sometimes causes injury. Food for thought about what else might fall into this category. Alternatively, someone who likes to hear themselves talk and who says nothing – like Trump.
we trapped the wind in the metal dogs and used it to preserve our lives.
The airbag didn’t really matter when the steering wheel was covered with broken glass. The glass was left by winter, and the tongues of clouds above.
‘Defective airbag confirms 10th death this year’ – the newspaper headline screamed. That was all she turned into – a statistical piece of information. He fought back tears of grief and guilt while quietly contemplating suicide. He had failed as a father.
life can be funny sometimes. You just don’t know what it is gonna throw at you next or if there will be an airbag to soften the blow. You gotta keep both eyes wide open AND TAKE IT LIKE A MAN.
The car swerved violently. She inhaled a Hail Mary as she kept her grip tight on the wheel. The momentum slowed and the car was still upright. No harm was done. She felt the tension in her body, though, and it wasn’t relieving. Oh wow. That was terrifying. What was that?
here comes this
here comes that
things I don’t even know
actions I don’t even show
so what
so what
here I am an airbag
floating to go nowhere anyway
He feels a crackling sensation burning up his spine. The moment passes, and he feels nothing at all except for the cold, inflated object cushioning his head, which reeked from years of disuse and the build-up of mold. He is also dimly aware of the cold trail of liquid that flows down the front of his forehead. His eyelids fall shut.
He couldn’t believe it didn’t engage. Or maybe it did and it was burst. What would happen now? How had this happened? He would be blamed. He knew it. He didn’t think he could handle the consequences. Why did it have to be the passenger side. He wished it was his.
I used to want to crash just to see how airbags work. Shame on me.
They went off officer! But, there was no accident. I was rolling to a stop. I swear it! They just went off without an impact.
The police officer frowned and looked deep into my vehicle. “Your airbag is probably one of those defective models…You know. The ones that are being recalled!”
I thought about it. No! There had to be a better explanation. Someone was messing with my car.
The airbag in my car is very hot and it exploded because the car in front of us hit our car. it was so cool because the thing exploded in my face but then it was also very hot because there was fire. Oh my god there’s a fire in the car. We need to get out but no one is moving what do i do. The car is now in flames and i died.
I imagined him puffed up in anger and I imagined myself puffing up as well, mocking the old windbag… then he’d sputter and rage and I’d do the same. Have a taste, you old windbag. I have no patience for the authority of blowhards.
an airbag protects people from car crashes. When a certain amount of pressure is applied to the car, the airbags explode to prevent people in the car from dangerous impact. Airbags can also be dangerous to drivers as the hard pressure can hurt people.
Airbags, they weren’t original features. They were added in recent decades to prevent injury along with seat belts. But the best way to avoid injury is to fail to hit anything…
I awoke from my temporary numbness to find that the airbag had inflated, cushioning my forehead but not stopping the blood from trailing from a narrow cut along my jaw. Beside me, my cousin seemed fine – shaken, but fine – as my eyes readjusted to my surroundings. I remembered now: It was snowing, my vision had become compromised, and a lamppost from a distance had looked like a shining, moth-luring safe haven.
they say they can save a life
but all i know is that mine suffocates me
once again reference my purse
plenty of room but filled by air
flying high across the sky
romance, wonder and awe
squeezed to the point of deflation
the pain, egregious loss, i die
airbag.
i fill my lungs with air, and i think about you. there is nothing left here. and these lungs feel like an airbag, ready to burst when i crush.
i’ll be okay.
i think.
Marian was pretty sure that “new car smell” was her favorite scent in the world. The airbags had gone off before, and there was a scuff on the bumper, but this car was her baby, and she felt protective over it.
Then boom, all at once, in my face. We came to a quick stop, he must’ve pressed on the brakes a little too hard. my head in pain we sat in silence waiting for what was next..
I slammed on the breaks–thank god I have a decent car that has an airbag. (And the bunny even lived in the end.)
i think it keeps people safe but its not such an overall good idea because of the danger it poses if you get stuck etc
My nails dug into the steering wheel as I frantically pressed the breaks. Nothing was working. I prayed that the airbag would work. I closed my eyes and waited for the worst. As I lost control of the steering wheel, the car swerved into a tree. My head jerked forward, but I didn’t feel the pain of the steering wheel colliding with my head. Instead, a white bag met my vision. Relief flooded over me, as I sighed and thanked God for the airbag.
An airbag is an essential piece of equipment. It is often found in vehicles meant to transport persons. It’s function is to deploy in case of impact (i.e. an accident) and provide protection against injury to persons in the vehicle. It has helped reduced the mortality rate from accidents, although I’m not sure exactly by how much.