Going to Autographing in Foreign Car

I am uneasy in this car:
so small—where does the gas go?
So low
I fear the underside is dragging
on concrete
and worse than that
my new all-weather coat
must be swiping asphalt
from that stretch of Highway 43

and where Sir
will you park in Pygmyland
and who will stand by the door
to help you extract me
from this expensive
low-down toy

Well, keep driving to the signing
my boy—If I wanted to ride on a turtle
I would have stayed in Oklahoma
drifted down Big Muddy
with my feet dangling in the water
while willows brushed my hair
and the turtle never tired

Notes

McDaniel, Wilma. (2001) Borrowed Coats. Hanging Loose Press, Brooklyn, New York.
Courtesy University of California, Merced Library. Copyright owned by the Regents of the University of California.