Learning Stick and an Old Boyfriend

My foot waits on the clutch,

my hand shaking above the shifter,

a small hill, that might as well

be Mt. Everest, towers in front of me.

We spent an hour arguing while I

wrestled with the gears and pedals;

howbeit, I didn’t retain anything you

said.  Intrepid as my decision

was, this hill may get the best of me.

I don’t have you to tell me, go easy;

the car jerks, tears splash in my lap

and the engine stutters.  You could

have kept calm, not hung over me

like this hill sits now.  You can

argue with someone else.

Gently off the clutch, ease on the gas and

climb over the hill; I’m going home.

 

-Chloe Marin Lott