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This writing was accepted for publication in the 84 page perfect-bound issue of cc&d (v239) (the December 2012 Issue) You can also order this 5.5" x 8.5" issue as an ISSN# paperback book:

Order this writing in the book Cheap Thrills cc&d 2012 collection book		get the 228 page Sept. - Dec. 2012 cc&d magazine issue collection 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

Spare Parts

Cara Chanoine

My body
is a refurbished car wreck,
rebuilt from memories of ideas
I used to have.
It’s a piecemeal framework—
at best, good for another thousand miles,
at worst, good for a blowout going seventy-seven on the highway.

I spend most of my time parked,
watching the gasoline rainbows puddle around my tires,
but I can hear the passing revolutions of everyone else’s wheels;
now, a ‘79 Shelby Mustang,
now, a ‘98 Kawasaki Ninja,
now, a ‘62 Volkswagen Beetle.
Chrome mufflers.
Power steering.
Anti-lock brakes.
I track their scents from the pavement,
straining for the sound of breaking plastic and collapsing metal.

Let the crash that totals me
find me with none of my original parts.
Let all four tires burst like tired condoms.
Let the walls of my body buckle,
folding in like an accordion
and raining down rust.
Let my second-hand parts scatter
like inmates escaping Alcatraz,
so irretrievable that only
the remnants of memories remain.

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