Love Poem: Old Cars
Franklin Price Avatar
Written by: Franklin Price

Old Cars

Old Cars
By Franklin Price
07/17/2020

Old cars were the best cars
A place for teens to play
Bench seats all the way across
No seat belts in the way

Three speed on the column
No shifter on the floor
No storage in the middle
Nothing there from door to door

Friday night was date night
The ending of a week at school
The drive-in show was waiting
Outdoor picture shows were cool

My date was waiting for me
At her parent's house, at dusk
Had shaved off all my peach fuzz
Splashed on, great smelling, musk

I pulled up in her driveway
Went and knocked upon the door
Put a smile upon my face
Hoped I would not be a bore

Her mother came and answered
Said, “ My, you smell so nice.”
Said, “ She is almost ready.
By the way, is that Old spice?”

Was so glad her mom answered
And it had not been her dad
He would have asked the question,
“What are your intentions, lad?”

In a moment she was with me
From the car, we waved good-byes
She was sitting by the window
Was a pleasure to my eyes

I backed out of the drive-way
Pulled the shifter down in gear
Put my arm around her
Drew her close to have her near

It was not our first date
She knew what she must do
When I pushed down on the pedal
She shifted up to number two

My arm around her shoulder
Was the place that it should be
I pushed the clutch a third time
She shifted down to number three

Went to our local hang-out
Across from the picture show
For the best hamburger ever 
Not the ones that we now know

The waitress took our order
From the window, driver's side 
Brought the burgers on a tray
With taters that were fried

Hung the tray upon the window
Left it there, 'til we were through
We left a tip when she removed it
10%, back then, would do

Many friends were also there
Was our favorite place to eat
For those who had the money
Was the place that we would meet

As soon as we were finished
The waitress took away the tray 
We headed for the outdoor show
Which was just across the way

Paid a dollar at the ticket booth
It took care of she and me
For the double feature showing
That we may or may not see

Parked back near the snack bar
That was mostly in the dark
No matter what might happen
Was the best place we could park

Hung the speaker on the window
That was rolled up part the way
The hang-out and drive-in gone
Left are memories of the day