i wish i had a renault 4

i just turned sixteen last week
and my dad gave me a used honda civic
i can't see anything more uncivic
than buying a japanese car
let alone used, stick shift, hatchback

dad!
even kids in south central LA have better cars than this crap
i protested
my complains unheard, made fun of
dad!
you think jen is going to show herself around
riding in this rusted piece of a wheeled anchovie can?
god!
nobody's ever going to even talk to me again at school

'cause everybody's riding their pimped bel airs, impalas
with their gas guzzling, roaring V8s
brand new hummers rocking to subwoofers
larger than my mom's new frost free chest freezer
(which was not cheap, let me tell you)
drooling over custom built mustangs
getting hard-ons driving muscle vintage camaros

and yet i don't wish for any of that
my demands are way more humble
i wish i had a renault 4
pure french elegance
fabric sunroof
retro looking coolness
and i can only imagine myself
sticking my eight-track collection
driving jen all the way to malibu

god


travis delillo (Los Angeles, CA, 1990)