AN ODE TO THE MOTORCAR by Kemi Ilori
In vain they tried to tire you with tax
Your tyre rolled over their wits
You made a kill of their Achille’s heel
They need taxes for public services!
In vain they raised the smoke
Screen of pollution, their hole in the skies
Their artic iceponds shrivelling into watery wastes;
They need jobs for their mortgage payments!
In vain they cleaned you out
Of their party agenda; their anger boils
Down to a war of words – whose petty policy
Is green when you need the polls that count?
In vain they envied you, your sleek
Curves, your sexy stats
Your nuptial dance in dazzling forecourts
You are the icon to own to prove their sizzle!
In vain they tried to cut the tar
Black macadam will run anywhere
In vain they clamped, in vain they crushed
The impounded jalopy, the old juggernaut
Long live the motorcar, king of the roads!
