Hello, hope you're all doing well!
I've had quite a stressful week getting ready to start classes again, but my biggest issue has been my computer. It's been shutting down randomly. I took it to the Apple Store today, and I was expecting to be without it for some time, which can cause me some stress. Luckily, we're trying a reset, and I've just finally got all my apps redownloaded and my drawing tablet working. But to help relieve my stress, I've been thinking of a poem about my car. I don't write poetry very well, so this is an amateur poem, but I figured you guys would appreciate it anyways.
Here goes nothing:
This car will turn heads someday.
Granted it turns heads now, but only away.
It's in that stage of it's life,
Where it's too old to be considered a "good car,"
But not old enough to be considered a "classic car."
Technically, it turned twenty this year,
Classifying it as classic.
But I've never seen anyone look at my 2003 Honda Civic LX,
The same way they look at my dad's station wagons.
His rusty 1994 Buick Roadmaster holds impressive loads,
And his 1986 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser is an instant hit of nostalgia.
And I love the station wagons too,
This is no shade to them.
But maybe when my generation is in their fifties,
A well maintained 2003 will jog blissful memories of being five or six.
The cars I considered new in 2015,
Are being tossed aside by the public as old.
Yet somehow, my mind is still rooted in the 2000s.
It seems I never left.
When I sit at the wheel of my Civic,
I feel powerful.
It has no VTEC,
Not an Acura ASPEC.
The Shoreline Mist has chips,
And the hood has rust.
Hell,
My father had to replace a panel on the rear passenger side,
Which we can finally paint the right color soon.
The car complains a lot,
Makes some road noise,
Skips my CDs going over the smallest bumps,
And losses traction on wet roads.
But for two years now,
It's been my most loyal friend.
Very literally taking me away from the worst of my days.
Bringing me to the park,
Just so I could grieve a lost friendship.
Recently it took a long hike on the thruway,
Four hours with no stopping,
Even pushing 95 to escape some rigs doing the tango.
And I had the confidence to push myself,
Because the Civic always pulls through.
When I walk through cruise nights,
And admire car shows,
Sometimes my heart sinks.
Other JDM are so fancy,
Decked out to the nines,
With power from grill to exhaust.
And all the American greats,
Corvettes, Mustangs, Camaros,
Passed down generation to generation,
Practically rust free,
Makes my 2003 feel inferior.
But once I head to the parking lot to leave,
I see it sitting there,
Using less space than SUVs,
And going the extra mile for every penny,
I know I have the right car for me.
It's spoiler was rescued from a Mitsubishi Spyder,
Sentenced to rot in the scarp yard,
After what looked to be a nasty crash.
And I remember when I saw it,
I said to my father, "Do you think it'll fit?"
We'd had no luck finding a spoiler off a Civic,
And I'm glad we did.
Because I saw this Spyder decorated with web decals,
And knew it'd been loved by it's pervious owners.
I wanted to pass on that love.
My father replied,
"It's pretty big. It'll be a statement for sure."
I shrugged and smiled,
"That's exactly what I'm looking for."
The time I spent with my father,
Helping him put the spoiler on,
Will always stay with me.
Months later,
Pieces of the trunk lid,
Fallen in from drilling the holes for the spoiler,
Are finally being shaken out.
A cutout appeared on my trip,
And I left it there to show my dad.
And the Civic has an exciting future in store.
On Monday we went to find the paint match.
NAPA had multiple versions of Shoreline Mist Metallic we could get,
So we went outside to the car to compare.
My father had the matching swatch,
And we were both shocked how seamless it was.
He said it isn't likely we'll get a perfect blend with a spray bomb,
But that's better than rust eating the metal,
And the spoiler being a silver that doesn't match.
Once it's been painted,
I can add the vinyl decals I've been eyeing on Etsy.
Purple paint isn't in the cards as of now,
But a branch of purple cherry blossoms is.
I've been holding onto a decal of the moon phases,
For the spoiler once it's painted.
As an homage to it's origins,
Since the Spyder is an option package on the Mitsubishi Eclipse.
They are also a reminder,
That we all wax and wane.
If I can hold out through my worst days,
If I keep at my goals,
I will someday shine like the full moon,
And inspire new moons to start waxing,
Into full moons of their own.
I suppose all of this is to say,
The unsuspecting can be valuable.
It's ok to remember the past fondly,
And have hiccups.
Let others inspire you,
But trust in your decisions as well.
Stand out in the way only you can,
Cherish the smallest moments,
And be proud of them.
The future may seem far,
But your patience will be rewarded,
With the best self you can be.
-Rosetta 💖