Toyota Haiku

Seventeen years I've
Known her for nine and ninety
nine thousand sweet miles0 points

Grandpa didn't smile
World war two prisoner's cheap
rising sun labor0 points

Three jobs, college, spouse,
First house, nearly a decade
Common thread - one ride0 points

Where have they gone now
shocks, struts, parking brakes, signals
Never to return0 points

Roll it down you can't
roll it up easy at all
No handle to crank0 points

Doors don't lock, they moan
Dust an inch deep all over
Drives like a go cart0 points

Gravel, asphalt, maps
Tire tread reinflation stops
Occasional spare0 points

Baby coming soon
Unclean, unsafe for a child
New car coming soon0 points

Thousand more to go
Two hundred fifty thousand
Quarter million miles0 points

Inside it blinks fast
Outside left or right they guess
Too cheap to fix them0 points

Falling apart rust
Stirring dust and memories
Embedded within0 points

Turn your head away
To smile or laugh at the sight
It still gets me home0 points

Rolling fortress honks
like a lone tin can painted
two tone white and rust0 points

She leaks a bit of oil
A cardboard pad will catch it
Until next month comes0 points

Dashboard dust scuff marks
speak stories of times past due
like the moon's surface0 points

A dashboard cavern
Holds wire and metal orgy
While cassettes languish0 points

Rolling over nine
to zero many times more
Odometer songs0 points

Five nuts spin in place
on the rims under cover
Lefty loosey, Right.0 points

Less each time over
White or yellow lines solid
or dashed. Until flat.0 points

Time for tea again
After nearly ninety days
and three thousand miles0 points

Wiper blade boogie
Snapping left-right left-rightsqueak
Slow down, Speed up, Stop0 points

Looking glass left is
gone from its home in the west
where silver chards sleep0 points

Dented fender looks
at home with paint chips and dings
Battle scars worn proud0 points

Dancing down gravel
Roads with no suspension like
A bounding squirrel0 points

Slam it. Hard to shut
Now a yellow bungee pulls
Trunk to bumper hooked0 points

I lost a piece of
Her again We drove slowly
peering in the ditch0 points

Reliable car
Ten times around this planet
One mile at a time0 points

Paper signs in three
Windows saying take me home
Make offer for me0 points

A call about you.
Pre-arranged and quietly
Executed date0 points

A drive to meet them.
Would they be able to
mend your old road wounds0 points

Coming to take you
for a drive and then to home.
Your new home, not mine0 points

I had never seen
your tail lights from the driver's
seat in all nine years0 points

You disappeared down
16th Avenue at night
Tail lights faded fast0 points

A wad of twenties
in my pocket made me feel
better despite loss0 points

Climbing into clean
one who replaced your loyal ride
with smooth and quiet0 points

Never needed more
Until a bundle arrived
needing special care0 points

In the rearview glass
a backseat newborn baby
with Mother. Safe.0 points