Charles Fishman

 
New Car Blues

My new car's in the lot - did I lock it?
Did I put in the sun-shade?  Will a truck
block it? or back up too quickly
and smack it?  Is that its horn sounding
through the night or something darker
that needs to speak?
 
Is it parked too close to the trees?
I can almost feel the cool sap drip.
And what if a branch slashes through the glass
and the upholstery is ripped?  What if
all four tires are slit?
 
What was that crash - its hood lifting
and slamming down?  And what is that loud
insistent clanking - doors jimmied off
and awkwardly dropped?  Is that a horn
sounding in the night or something darker
that needs to speak?