Nude

I am 45 and do not
Know how to drive a car
- And you tell me I am cultured.

45 years creeping and crawling about the earth,
Going up and down the world,
And I do not know the difference between a carburettor and a gasket
- And you tell me I am a Homo sapiens.

45 years sitting in the back seat giving directions
- And you say that I am not an egotist.

45 years sitting in the passenger seat
With my hands folded primly on my lap
- And you think I am liberated.

45 years getting in and out of cars
And I do not know where the dipstick is
- And you tell me that I am a superb lover.

45 years of grovelling behind a windscreen
- And you talk of my pride and courage and self-reliance.

45 years of not knowing the meaning of words
Like transmission, clutch, choke, battery, leads
- And you say that I am articulate.

45 years of hovering on street curbs and clinging to lamp posts
Terrified to cross the street
- And you whisper into my ear in the middle of the night that I am a Divine creature.

45 years bumming lifts off other people
- And you tell me I am an independent, solitary, romantic spirit.

So it is that you find me tonight
Loitering here outside your front door
Having paid off a taxi in three ten-pound notes,
Nude, with a steering wheel in my hands.

Paul Durcan