Skidding Towards Dementia
A battered Excel
you struggle to start on cold mornings
door handles and wing mirrors fall away
oil leaks from your engine
and your paintwork
is speckled and sun faded.
You splutter along freeways
other cars zooming past
at speeds you can now only imagine
horns blare and fists shake
as you indicate left, turn right
your brake lights fail.
But in your electronic control unit
you’re a showroom model
with zippy acceleration
and responsive steering
barely a kilometer
on your odometer.
© A. R. Levett 2026
you struggle to start on cold mornings
door handles and wing mirrors fall away
oil leaks from your engine
and your paintwork
is speckled and sun faded.
You splutter along freeways
other cars zooming past
at speeds you can now only imagine
horns blare and fists shake
as you indicate left, turn right
your brake lights fail.
But in your electronic control unit
you’re a showroom model
with zippy acceleration
and responsive steering
barely a kilometer
on your odometer.
© A. R. Levett 2026
