old cars

the car has seen better days.
royal blue
is now denim faded.
there's rust
on the running boards,
in the wheel wells, the radio
doesn't play.
a crack in the windshield
serrates the glass.
in the morning she
groans when she tries to turn
over. when i hit the gas.
the pistons stuck,
the gear shift, the doorknobs too.
she was a great car for
many years,
smooth as silk on the open
road.
plush and fun around the curves.
I remember the beach
on our first trip to the eastern
shore.
the bridge, the gulls.
the salt in the air.
i'll miss her, as I have all
the old cars I've been down
the road with.
but it's time to go, pull
up the truck and take her.
i'll wipe my tears away
and get another. maybe a foreign
job with a convertible
roof to let the sun in.