You borrowed my car with a wink and a smile

A Poem by A. Hood

One of many poems about an ex-girlfriend.

and never brought it back.

It’s ok, I didn’t really like the color much.

And it had a hundred something thousand miles on it.

--You keep it

it will probably

break down on you anyway.

In which case

you’ll leave it

on the side of the road

for somebody else to fix.

It’s worked for you in the past

I don’t imagine you’d

do anything different.

The pageantry of your words

could turn any man to stone,

and your polarizing glare

could force a leash onto any old, stray dog,

even if he just learned a new trick.

You’re overwhelming to say the least--

kind of like a two-for-one special

when you already have etched into

the concrete of your mind

that you only need one.

Today I’m sitting outside

reading some Vonnegut

and downing a six pack,

giving my brain the day off

and consequently

making my liver work a double.

And you happen to come to the forefront

of my mind yet again.

probably because I know

you didn’t care

for literature

or beer.

I’m not really sure why

I still pen you out

in my poems exactly

a year later.

I’m pretty sure I died

in your memory a few months back--

But on the other hand

I always look both ways

before I cross the street now.

It’s nice, because I know for sure

I’ll never get hit by oncoming traffic.

But I often miss the light,

as it changes rather quickly

these days.

© 2016 A. Hood

Author's Note

The title is the first line of the poem so I left it without capitalization.

My Review

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Reviews

Court Steed-Oldwyn

It's so refreshing to read a poem that is concrete and is able to turn simple, daily life (REAL life) things into something thoughtful and beautiful as opposed to the many vague, intangible poems that I often see. I love the first line, I love that you were able to pull small pieces of your ex into this poem in a way that we get a real sense of who she is. I love the liver working double, it sticks in my mind! Also the line about her not liking literature or beer says so much about her but in such a clear, simple way. The only part that threw me a bit was the line about the old dog learning a new trick. Maybe because it's such a known saying? I think you make your point with the putting a leash on a stray....though I think you mean that she could "leash" anyone who doesn't want to be leashed and that to me feels more like a wild animal or feral dog than an old stray. I picture an old stray as being happy to get leashed and find a home! This is for sure one of my favs that I've read in this group so far-