Keep the Shiny Side Up - May 29 2022

 

Keep the Shiny Side Up

May 29 2022

The one time

I rode a motorcycle

I leaned the wrong way,

as most novices do   —

against the turns

not into them.

Almost burned a leg

on the hot metal exhaust.

Clung to the driver's waist

as if my life depended on it

   —   which I still think it did   — 

with an anxious mix

of the fear of death

and my more usual fear

of intimacy;

both arms gripping

teeth grimly clenched,

yet keeping my distance, somehow.

I get the romance

of the open road

and the wind in my hair

and easy riders heading west;

but for whatever reason

the attraction escapes me;

I have no desire to ride.

It's as if I was born old

cautious

too bourgeois.

So, do I have second thoughts

about missing out,

a few regrets

a little envy?

Or do I accept this

as predetermined destiny?

Born to walk, instead of fly,

for a rocking chair

not rock 'n roll.

Keep the shiny side up, they say.

Not so hard, in my standard Volvo sedan.

Washed and buffed

every Friday night

to keep its new car shine.

There was a photo essay of female motorcycle enthusiasts in the weekend Globe. It brought me back to the one and only time I ever rode on one. I have to admit, it looks like fun. But I'm too old and set in my ways, to start; and, frankly, not temperamentally suited to it.

Actually, my very first thought on viewing the photos was of my disappointment at not seeing any electric machines. Especially since I regard recreational driving — or riding — as a highly socially irresponsible activity in this time of accelerating climate change. But I've written more than enough about that.

It's actually drive a Subaru, not a Volvo. But the connotation conveyed by the Swedish sedan works perfectly here. And no, I don't really spend Friday nights washing a car. (I pretty much never get my car washed!) I hasten to add not because I'm doing anything else exciting, adventurous, or dangerous on that traditionally big night out; just not doing that!