Poems (Kennedy)/Car and Cart

by Sara Beaumont Kennedy

CAR AND CART

YOU'VE bought a car, Phil? Well, it's fine
 To skim the smooth asphalt,
With not a hindrance in your path
 And not a single halt.
The car seems like a winged bird,
 Your joy is unrepressed,
Unless, Phil, you are riding with
 The girl you love the best.

Then staid old Dobbin and a cart
 Seem suited to the case,
For then she needs no auto veil
 To hide her darling face;
Nor do you have to honk a horn
 That sounds so sore distressed;
And you can drive with just one hand,
 And—ah, you know the rest!

Old Dobbin will jog-trot along,
 His gait both safe and sane,
And it really doesn't matter much
 If you should drop your rein.
But in the car you've got to steer,
 Force brakes to do their part,
And so you haven't time to tell
 The thing that's in your heart.

A car is splendid with a friend,
 No matter how it "woggles,"
But you can't "look love" at a girl
 When both are wearing goggles.
Nor can you hold her little hand
 Swathed in a dog-skin glove.
Oh, an auto isn't in it, Phil,
 When you are making love!