Five months ago, on this day, at this hour, I was in trauma recovery with a doctor picking glass out of my head. The glass was everywhere, in every crevice of my clothing, in every exposed space where glass could fix itself; days later I pulled glass out of my skin. I think there is still glass embedded in my arm. How could such a small car contain so much glass?

Today I drove the same route from Philadelphia to Morgantown, WV; I did not plan this outright but was working in Philly this week and decided to come home today. The skid marks begin to fade at the site of the accident; the memory and sound have not.

During the accident, the one complete thought I had was let me live. I am still sorting out what that means and begin to get a clearer picture. It’s been five months; something more follows. Five months ago today, I nearly died; I did not.