when the judgement comes in
the form of a backhanded compliment
from an eleven-year old
that you’ve spent a large sum of money
on a vehicle that is as gaudy
as it is hideous
as it wasn’t a rolling visual reminder of all that is wrong with us
collectively
as it was a main character on the road
always appearing as an antagonist
to those of us who dare gaze upon it
and it’s summarized by young eyes as
exactly what it is

it’s so ugly that it’s cool to look at
no one will make one like that again
or, everybody will do it too because
they’re trying to fit in
maybe five years from now there will be a crop
of stainless steel style cars
and we’ll think differently then
because theirs looks closer to ours

until then I will call it like it’s seen through the eyes of a child
you can spend it all on trends
but you can never buy
style