{"id":332,"date":"2006-10-10T14:56:13","date_gmt":"2006-10-10T18:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/riverwriter.ca\/wordcurrents\/2006\/10\/10\/the-wash\/"},"modified":"2006-10-10T14:56:13","modified_gmt":"2006-10-10T18:56:13","slug":"the-wash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riverwriter.ca\/wordcurrents\/2006\/10\/10\/the-wash\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wash"},"content":{"rendered":"

[I didn’t have time to write a haiku, so I wrote this.]<\/em>
\nOutside, signs instruct me:
\n“Not responsible for damage to
\nbug deflectors or other plastic.”<\/em><\/p>\n

I picture some kind of zany rodeo:
\nbucking cars and shards of plastic
\neventually of interest to archaeologists.
\nThrough the slot under
\nthe partially raised door
\nI see runners and jean cuffs
\nshuffling back and forth
\non a wet concrete floor.
\nStrong variegated hissing
\nemanates: a huge snake
\non a long smoke break.
\n“If you feel uncomfortable
\nmaking the entry turn
\nan attendant will be happy \u2014”
\n<\/em>How happy I wonder.
\nWill he use signal flags
\nto land me on the carrier deck?
\nor just shoulder me aside,
\nvault insultingly into the saddle
\nand drive in cavalierly?<\/p>\n

The door rises; the show begins:
\nthe car ahead enters,
\nallowing me to negotiate the entry turn
\nand see the line of four vehicles,
\nvarious kid\/staff in charge
\nstanding, talking while
\nthe vehicles move ahead;
\neverything is wet:
\nthe floor gleams kaleidescope
\nhorizontal shimmers.
\nThe van at the head exits;
\neverything lurches forward.<\/p>\n

I find myself sitting near
\nthe exit door, writing this.<\/p>\n

The roar and music of
\ncar sanitation and shining:
\n“Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”
\ntakes me with Dorothy
\nto the Wash and Brushup.<\/p>\n

My black Honda with its diet
\nof muddy roads and trailer hauling
\nis getting a new dress for visitors.
\nI wait for Cinderella to emerge
\nfrom the dancing minstrations of
\nfaeries, the boys of The Wash:
\nlow slung baggy pants
\nwet runners \u2014 the uniform.<\/p>\n

A roar like
\na jet revving for takeoff:
\nanother car is coming through;
\nmine is still stuck at the gate,
\ntoo grubby for quick treatment.<\/p>\n

When I gave the order for
\n“Inside, out, and wax,
\nclean driver’s door,”
\nthe guy give me a “No problem,”
\nand perhaps a little promotion,
\nlike the waiter who leads you to believe
\nyour selection from the menu
\nis inspired; then he smiles and
\nhops to another exciting challenge.<\/p>\n

I couldn’t do it:
\npretend car washing was
\na great career choice.
\nI couldn’t give cleaning windows
\nand dashboards a career commitment.
\nGoing to that job would not make me
\nget up every day, but they do
\n\u2014 and there’s a kind of sainthood in that.<\/p>\n

They must have some joy here:
\nWhat is it? cameraderie? love of cars?
\nsecurity, a wage? tips? community?
\nperforming in front of an audience?<\/p>\n

Air fresheners offered:
\n“new car, lemon, green apple,
\ncherry, tropical, strawberry, pina colada.”<\/em>
\nI notice “cinnamon” is
\ntaped over with masking tape.
\nWhat if I get pulled over and
\nPina colada<\/em> reeks out at the constable?
\nI pass on the sir freshener.<\/p>\n

My Honda is prepping for
\njet takeoff mode. Loud jets rev.
\nThe check list: flaps, ailerons \u2014
\ncomplete: ready for lift off:
\nSquawk: “Niner Niner Zero Tango Foxtrot
\nWe have a go for take off
\non runway Two Niner
\nHave a good flight.<\/p>\n

One of the guys looks over at me
\nwriting here as he pulls up.
\nHe is puzzled, like some monk
\nwatching Augustine silent reading,
\nunable to discern what the hell \u2014<\/p>\n

I hardly recognize the gleaming
\nvaguely familiar vehicle which \u2014
\nOh well: off to see the wizard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[I didn’t have time to write a haiku, so I wrote this.] Outside, signs instruct me: “Not responsible for damage to bug deflectors or other plastic.” I picture some kind of zany rodeo: bucking cars and shards of plastic eventually … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riverwriter.ca\/wordcurrents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riverwriter.ca\/wordcurrents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riverwriter.ca\/wordcurrents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverwriter.ca\/wordcurrents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverwriter.ca\/wordcurrents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/riverwriter.ca\/wordcurrents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riverwriter.ca\/wordcurrents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverwriter.ca\/wordcurrents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riverwriter.ca\/wordcurrents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}