Training Wheels

First, it’s a plastic car from Little Tikes.

It is red with a yellow roof, powered by 

Legs that just learned how to walk.

Then it’s a bike with training wheels,

Handle bars and a basket up front for

A teddy or a doll or a ball or a truck.

It is for trips around the block, for

Legs that just learned how to run.

The training wheels come off,

The paint chips and dulls, 

And the legs get scraped and bruised

Until the bike is replaced by a

Shiny new bike, for legs that

Don't need Mom’s help anymore.

For legs that are too cool for a helmet,

Legs that rush out the door after lunch

To a friend’s house just a few blocks away.

Then, it’s the first car, for legs that

Just turned seventeen. It is parked in

The driveway that used to seem 

More like a wide open road.

The car gets bruised and scraped like the 

Legs that once couldn’t stand on their own.

The Little Tikes car fades into a sun-kissed pink.

The bike gears rust and the wheels deflate.

The car is parked out front with a trunk full of boxes.

The legs grow weak as they say goodbye.