Willys Jeep

My father bought a Willys Jeep

When I was just a kid.

My mother took one look at it

And man, she flipped her lid.

A station wagon was the car

He’d told her he would buy.

To him, they were equivalent;

He hadn’t tried to lie.

We didn’t have it very long

But oh, I loved it so!

Its rattan seats could fold if you

Had lots of things to stow.

In emerald green, it didn’t look

Like any other car.

In terms of being cool,

That Willys Jeep sure set the bar.

Today I saw a Willys Jeep,

Bright orange, on the street

And memories came flooding back,

An unexpected treat.

My father’s long-ago mistake

(Or so I had been told)

Evokes a snippet of the past

I’m happy to behold.