The Final Ride
The Final Ride
Requiem for my van – 613,000km in 13 years
A million miles…
Well, not quite, but close enough
To earn her a place
In the annals of impossibility.
A super service chariot
Rollin’ down the highway,
A weekly commuter train
Between earth and Heaven,
A Canada-U.S. ferry
To the Master’s sacred Feet.
I wanted to enshrine her
In the back yard,
Paint her in brilliant patterns
Like an Indian elephant.
I wanted to bind her to me
With the clinging vines of memory,
Hide her rusting body
With my death-denying dreams.
In the end, I opted for a post-med puja
Complete with incense and garlands,
A final round-the-block journey
Crammed full of friends
Whose praise and laughter and God-songs
Gave her the best possible farewell ride.
– Hladini Wilson.
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