Dividing Classics from Antiques
At forty-five, your warranty expires.
Still, there's five years before the maker stops
providing parts, and ten before the tires
get hard to find, or you can make the shop
mechanics laugh by simply driving in,
and no one fights to put you on the lift
to see your underside, or take a spin
and see if there's still power when they shift
from high to overdrive, or tots inquire
if you're, perhaps, an oldtime movie prop,
or part of a parade. Still, it's a gift,
at forty-five to run, much less run good,
and look far newer than a classic should.
--William John Watkins