Rental Car
by J. Kevin Wolfe

Got the keys? I asked Chuck
I locked my door in France
Got the keys? I repeated
I pressed the knob in Andorra
Got the keys? I chanted
I checked the handle in Spain

It's Sunday
The Pyrenees live 60 kilometers
from anyplace
I forget to ask

The keys sway in the ignition
from the noose of a chain
half a meter
behind tempered glass
My Swiss Army knife learns
how sturdy Peugeots are made

Two Frenchmen
leave their picnic, wine and women
They cram two screwdrivers
above the window

Pulling down
my fingers are in
Pulling down
my hand is in
Pulling down
my elbow is in
Pulling down
the window leaps the track
thunks into the door
'Voila' they smile

It's summer
Snow flavors the wind
We have no window
'I got the keys'
Chuck says

from 'The Year of Purple Lawn Furniture'
c2001 by J. Kevin Wolfe