Someone Else’s Car
Some of the best times to be had are in cars. Especially growing up in the woods where I did, a movie date was a 30 minute trip each way, and the back and forth, and the traveling I did for girls when I was young, the road means a lot to me.
The dreams you had, the drinks you mixed
All in all we weren’t missed
Leather seats and coffee stains
30,000 miles before
The paint peeled back and rusting through
trouble adjusting the temperature
an import hatchback or Cadillac
driving someone else’s car
I remember giving you your first ride
matchless yellow halter, straps on the side
But you, you couldn’t sit still
and you came to my shoulder and killed –
my ambition to kiss what I did not know
whether you’d want me to take it slow
a different angle and a clumsy mess
I found it before I’ll find it again
a shoeprint etched into the glovebox
transmission pulled into park
a family sedan or an unmarked van
driving someone else’s car