'On the road again!', was playing on the radio once more,
and the mist was all that was left of the earlier downpour,
My little ones were safe and sleeping peacefully in their car seats,
Hard to believe that only a day ago, our lives were stuck on repeat.

I had thought that all the fear and anguish was finally gone with our past,
but I should have known that 'their' reach was long and it wouldn't last,
a new name and job seemed such a great idea, my husband was ready to testify,
but the day after the court case, he was gunned down and in my arms he died.

We both had witnessed the brutal beating outside the local laundry shop,
and now I was being escorted because it had been a mafia money drop,
Our lives had changed in an instant and even friends and family were left behind,
Our house had been ransacked, in case we had had a tape or left something behind.

It had been hard to leave my family in a 'fire' the papers said, 'We died!'
and now after five long years, once again we must flee 'them' and hide,
So with an escort in front of us and another trailing a few minutes away,
once more we are running,surviving and mostly savoring every free moment, day by day!

(c)Jane Richer
Nov. 7 / 2006