Deadly Road Inspires Creativity and a $500 Poem

It is treacherous in spots, silky smooth in others. It is California 126, and as part of the annual Fillmore Fourth of July Celebration and Chili Cook-Off, those who have experienced the highway’s twists and turns were asked to wax poetic about it.

The winner, whose work was selected from more than 200 entries, is Therese Dury-Corona of Camarillo. Her prize was $500.

Her four-stanza poem, “Stay Alive on This Beautiful Drive,” begins with a driver’s-eye view of the roadway, and its orange groves and fields. Like many, she mentions the highway’s deadly history.

Last December to January, 12 people died in traffic accidents, and Thursday another driver was killed in a head-on collision.

Of Highway 126, Dury-Corona wrote: “The road that’s narrow then is wide, can catch one unaware. It dips, inclines and twists its spine forcing you to care.”

She continues: “The blazing lights from fleeting cars can blind the proper trail, as slumber beckons drivers home too often they derail.”

Finally, Dury-Corona offers words of advice. “So stay alive, come back again now that you have met, the one-two-six, while beautiful is ‘slippery when wet.’ ”

Robin Lane Witt of Simi Valley took second place, and W. Mitchell of Penticton, British Columbia, Canada, took third place. They each received $250.