2012 Poetry Month

My Bike’s Name is Mortimer

This P-A-D is an interesting challenge. What’s changed for me as a result of the challenge? I’m paying more attention to my surroundings. I look around thinking, okay…what’s today’s topic?

Today I noticed how much I love my car. (Yes, I do live in Los Angeles.)

I began to write about a beloved old car I had, and how everyone convinced me I “deserved” a new car…even though I knew I really loved my old one. The only things I envied in other cars were automatic windows.

So…I bought a fancy, decked-out new car. It was beautiful, elegant and white. It had all the newest electronic stuff and leather seats. I was set….except that it was hard to park, it had an uncomfortable headrest, and a terrible blind spot.

I drove it for a few years hoping I’d get used to it. People kept telling me how lucky I was to own such a wonderful car.

Finally, one particularly bad day when my novel was majorly rejected, I realized I did not like this car. At all. Not one bit.

So I started looking for an old car. And I found one. A dependable, clunky car just like my old one except for one thing: it has automatic windows.

I named him Mortimer and I’ve been driving happily ever after.

MY BIKE’S NAME IS MORTIMER

by April Halprin Wayland

The best thing about him

(besides his name)?

He’s not the same

as Rebecca’s or James’.

He’s faded-that’s fine.

Mort’s perfect–he’s mine.

© by April Halprin Wayland 2010 all rights reserved

Please leave a comment on TeachingAuthors.com (You can leave your comment after any of our posts…it doesn’t matter if I am posting or someone else is. Just scroll down to the first place you can comment and send me encouragement!)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.