timed release

the Maiden feareth capture/and felt a crawling dread/”we’re heading for a trap, sure–

it’s after nine!” she said.

the Ogre in his prison/flexed arms and stamped and howled/and shouted oaths unchristian–

“it’s almost ten!” he growled.

at ten the grate slid sideways/the Ogre leapeth free/and boundeth in the night haze–

“she’s MINE by one!” saith he.

the Maiden hears his roaring/and checks her rearview mirror/denied the pedal-flooring–

“Gadzooks! He getteth nearer!!”

The Ogre weaves through traffic/near-gridlock’d with horns blaring/and screams with curses graphic–

FINALLY, she is at and through the scene of the accident, and soon is no longer surrounded by morbid rubberneckers. She gently presses the accelerator, kissing her imaginary Ogre, who again has helped her through a tedious gridlock episode, as he fades.