Nothing says I’m proud to be alive like a yellow Beetle
With fresh flowers in its vase
I remember when the Honda was folded by a loaded pickup
And you emerged from the wreckage unscathed
I was never worried
That car could have been halved one hundred times
But your tiny body would have found a space to exist
And when you fell to the road I imagine
The first thing you did was ask the drunk
If he was OK
I shake my head and smile
You were covered
And there it was a week later in our driveway
Like it was beamed straight from your heart
To the asphalt candy yellow and pulsing
You were so proud to be alive
For the first month
You changed the flowers each second day
Then the next year
You replaced them once a week
And the next
Once every two weeks
Until I imagine you barely
Thought about the flowers at all
And I remember when I came home to see
You for the last time
There it was in our driveway
Its vase empty