222,222 Miles - Alana MacMahon

I’m ready for a self-driving car

Staring at you staring at my hips

Lying on your bed

Lies on your lips

I want to be

A pink plastic bag

A modern tumbleweed

Blowing away from here

Done being run over, repeatedly

Watch out for pedestrians

Drivers only care about the destination What about the journey?

My joyride ended with a crash

Slow-motion

Privileged to work remotely,

Stopped the commotion

Afraid of shared locomotion

Not afraid of a demotion ….

Layoffs, production is in slow-motion Lines of cars waiting for food,

should evoke some kind of emotion

Government response is in slow-motion

Chauffeur

Suburban moms spend 17 days a year not dressing, bathing, feeding

but driving, driving, driving

while emissions mean their children live in fear

Here is so far from there

Rush-hour traffic only has appeal

To industries related to the automobile For people, city planning has no care

My mom did the math

It’s actually 30 days, a slip-up

They forgot school drop off and pick up How to fit in a career in this life’s path

Florida summer temperatures on the weather map A Jeep with no air-conditioning, a death trap 3 of the windows are stuck, our moms are stuck If you try to have it all, you’re f**ked

Generations

red 2001 Ford Mustang Convertible

My dad had a motorbike in high school Gen Z boys with striped GTs looking cool Me and my girls ride in style too

white 1994 Yukon

After my grandad was gone

Cared for by my dad

Receiving compliments from all the lads Six siblings all together for a time

Five siblings left to remember

Five years older than me

The SUV has more life experience than me Brakes going worries me

Please be safe for me

red 1986 Mazda RX-7

Like mother like daughter

Driving to the water

From South Beach to Palm Beach

A red sports car is the perfect accessory

Living by campus, it’s true that

People look like their names

Dog owners look like their dogs

Starting to think car owners look like their cars: 3 Porsche SUVs

2 black back to back, the other gray

1 sexy, shiny black classic Mustang

Countless Range Rovers

Mom always wanted a Range Rover

Before the influencer kids had G wagons Generations of privilege as toxic as NOx Smog not the only force clouding our vision

222,222 miles

Odometer displaying 222,222 miles

Sitting in a parking lot blessed by a shade tree

Perfect for enjoying curbside pickup with mom

Love our little escapes, our private oasis

Reminiscing on how the 2

Spacious trunk of our Jeep Cherokee,

Protected by a yellow patterned blanket

From hay bales and hitchhiking barn dogs

From an angry anhinga wrapped in fishing line, beak aiming for eyes From mischievous kittens sneaking into the driver’s seat From “garage cat” who loved to sleep on top of cars From smelly soccer gear and milkweeds ready to plant

Yes, we need a new car

But 222,222 miles took us this far

222,222 Miles - Alana MacMahon (and associated artwork)