July 16: While driving

This is the haiku I wrote in my head while driving busy Route 52 to Belfast yesterday:

Driving to the lake
I swerve to avoid it--
child's pinwheel in the road.

A little way up the road I swerved again to avoid another thing in the road, just my side of the double yellow lines. As I was passing it, I realized it was a small painted turtle, head up, very much alive. So I pulled over, got out, stopped a huge truck headed right for it, picked it up, and quickly put it on the other side of the road. I was so relieved that the truck stopped just in time that I almost burst into tears. The driver of the truck said, "There's your good deed for the day!" and seemed pleased that between the two of us, we'd saved the turtle.

So here's the amended haiku:

Driving to the lake
I swerve to avoid it--
turtle crossing the road.