My First Car

The Retired Bloke

I remember my very first car

A Hillman Avenger painted in maroon

It was my pride and joy 

My most important possession by far

 

But back in those days

Cars were not what they are today

Crossing fingers when turning the ignition

So unique in so many ways

 

Paintwork so vulnerable to rust

Accelerated when exposed to rain

Hard certainly to explain

Why parts of the vehicle turned to dust. 

 

To distract from the growing decay

I adorned the car with fluffy trinkets

Collected from the occasional breakdown free trips

Playing music on AM radio the only way

 

To drown the drone of the puny petrol engine

Which gave up hope at the merest chance of moisture

Leaving us stranded and abandoned

Too many incidents to mention.  

 

But back in those days cars were part of the family

Unconditional love bestowed upon them daily

Forgiving all faults and frailties 

Up and down with the bonnet happily 

 

Tinkering with spark plugs, points and under seal 

Forever filling with oil and sorting the tracking

It really hard to see the appeal

 

But I loved my Hillman Avenger

It was not simply a modern appliance

Starting with boring regularity

Until that day I finally did surrender

 

And bought a Mini Metro! 

  • Author: The Retired Bloke (Offline Offline)
  • Published: October 7th, 2018 15:44
  • Comment from author about the poem: A poem about my first car.
  • Category: Reflection
  • Views: 19
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Comments +

Comments4

  • Andrew Charles Forrest

    First car like a first love
    One never forgets
    Great memory
    Thank you

  • Tamara Beryl Latham - The Poet

    Your poem brought back so many memories. My first car (as a teenager) was a Ford Fairlane. I was driving and the steering wheel actually pulled off. Thank God I was able to reattach it while driving.
    Loved your poem. 🙂

    • The Retired Bloke

      My friends gear shift also came off in his hand whilst driving. Probably not as scary as the steering wheel!!

      • Tamara Beryl Latham - The Poet

        Wow! That was scary too. Are the cars today any better? The lady that works at the post office said her husband bought a new car with the push button start and as he was driving around 55 mph he tried to break and the car wouldn't stop, so he had to crash it.

      • Goldfinch60

        Great nostalgic write. My first car was a Triumph Herald 13/60. If I knew I was going any where over 100 miles I would give it a mini service and reset the spark plugs.

        • The Retired Bloke

          They were certainly high maintenance machines in those days.

        • orchidee

          A fine write Retired.



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