We named you Gloria
Sleek black lines
Heavily decorated with dents
A neighbor was selling cheap
Not my dream car
But you became
The car of my dreams  

I was a cautious driver
Hauling my mother
To the Piggly Wiggly and library
Posture straight from the manual
Hands at 10 and 2
Radio muttering low
The local news and weather  

But not so with my weekend girls
As we tooled the town loop
Center Avenue to 8th Street
And down along the lake
Fire drills at the intersections
Hand cranking the windows
We honked and hooted
Blasting the top ten favorites
Checking out what couples
Were parking at The Point  

On nights when the drama
At home went from bad to worse
It was just the two of us
Heading out of town
To where the lonely roads led
Both humming softly to the stars