.

I’ll Keep My Truck

I’ll keep my truck.  I won’t revise
my thinking as gas prices rise.
My son-in-law berates and blames
my truck.  It drinks too much, he claims.
He loves to spout and moralize.

He says the long-term answer lies
in hybrid cars of smaller size.
The Flea, the Gnat, will be their names.
__I’ll keep my truck.

There is a fact no one denies:
the rich won’t have to compromise.
When steel surrounds, a crash just maims.
Without it, I could die in flames.
It should not come as a surprise:
__I’ll keep my truck.

.

.

Mark F. Stone worked as an attorney (active duty and civil service) for the United States Air Force for 33 years and is retired. He began writing poems in 2005, as a way to woo his bride-to-be into wedlock. His poems have been published by Light, The Ohio Poetry Association, The Road Not Taken: The Journal of Formal Poetry, the Society of Classical Poets, Whatfinger News, Ric Edelman’s The Truth About Your Future podcast, and the Seeking Alpha Alpha Picks podcast.

NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets.

The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.


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28 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Good for you! Father-in-laws have the right to criticize the thinking of a son-in-law. It should be no surprise!

    Reply
  2. Paul Erlandson

    I love the way you think, Mark!

    I drive a 2019 Ford F-150 Regular Cab short bed 4×4 truck with 5.0L Coyote engine and 3.73 locking diffs. The dealership had to get it for me from a dealership in another state. Now the same dealer (and other Ford dealers) contact me monthly trying to buy the truck back from me. Maybe next time, I’ll answer their email with your poem!

    Reply
  3. Norma Pain

    I like this poem and the sentiments behind it. No electric vehicle for me. And I still have my pedal-power bicycle!

    Reply
  4. Gigi Ryan

    I just read this fun poem to two my sons, 15 and 18. They loved it. It’s hard to get them excited about poetry. Thank you.

    Currently I am snowed/iced in right now in Tennessee. Those with trucks can still get around!

    Reply
  5. Paul A. Freeman

    This poem emphasises the opposing views of the older and the younger generation in the fossil fuel debate.

    The refrain emphasising a heels-dug-in intransigence.

    Thanks for the read, Mark.

    Reply
    • Joseph S. Salemi

      It’s not intransigence, Paul. It’s defending our rights against snotty enviromentalist fanatics who think they can tell the rest of us how to think and act and live. And there are plenty of younger persons who drive cars and trucks, and who will continue to do so.

      By the way, do the U.A.E. authorities know how opposed you are to “fossil fuels”? Or have you managed to keep that under cover?

      Reply
      • Mike Bryant

        Joe, it’s not intransigence, it’s intelligence. Despite what the new worlders tell you, every country is placing big bets on natural gas and all the other fossil fuels. I heard that Mauritania is investing big time in their offshore natural gas riches… by the way Mauritania has a higher homicide rate than the USA! When the children grow up a little they’ll want trucks too.

    • Lannie David Brockstein

      Hey Paul,

      If you lead a gas-guzzling truck to a gas station it will surely drink.

      It is foolish to be a proponent of non-hybrid gas-guzzling vehicles, but it is even more foolish to be a proponent of electric vehicles whose battery packs use Li-NMC (lithium, nickel, manganese, cobalt) battery cells, which are currently the most common kind that is used by the electric vehicle industry, but that if damaged are prone to being a fire hazard.

      There is a new kind of lithium battery cell that is made of lithium-titanate (LTO), which cannot be a fire hazard even if damaged. Furthermore, lithium-titanate batteries can be relied upon in extremely low temperatures (-40 Celsius), unlike other kind of lithium batteries.

      But the politicians who typically represent the interests of industry lobbyists much more than they represent the interests of We the People, have not yet passed legislation that requires for lithium-titanate battery cells to be exclusively used by the manufacturers of electric vehicle battery packs.

      There is much more money to be made by the electric vehicle industry when its battery packs use Li-NMC battery cells that are fragile and prone to being a fire hazard if damaged, and that therefore need to be regularly replaced.

      Due to how the electric vehicle industry is currently structured, the real money to be made there is typically being done by means of the electric vehicle companies selling expensive replacement battery packs, rather than by means of selling the electric vehicles themselves.

      That business model is similar to how most printer companies earn the majority of their revenue by means of them selling their printers for cheap, but whereby their ink cartridges that need to be regularly replaced have extremely high prices.

      But unlike the fragile battery packs of today’s electric vehicles, the replacement ink cartridges of printers are not prone to being a fire hazard if damaged.

      If the electric vehicle industry were to be restructured due to the politicians putting the interests of We the People first, and thereby legislating that all battery packs must not be fragile nor a fire hazard if damaged, and whereby they can also be relied upon during the colder weather months, then most truck owners will probably much more inclined to using an electric truck or a hybrid truck whose battery pack therefore uses lithium-titanate battery cells, than to continue using a gas-guzzling truck.

      From Lannie.

      Reply
  6. Stephen M. Dickey

    Amen! I have had these same sentiments exactly over the last few years, since I got my first pickup (a gas guzzling Nissan Titan).

    Reply
  8. Cynthia Erlandson

    This poem not only states something important; it also makes the statement fun! “The Flea” and “The Gnat” are hilarious names, worthy of the topic. “It drinks too much” also brought me a smile.

    Reply
  9. Phil S. Rogers

    A great poem. Resist stupidity in this world, and I too will keep my truck.

    Reply
  10. Cheryl Corey

    Keep on truckin’, Mark! At least you know it’ll start in the freezing cold, unlike the fools in Chicago who bought into the EV hype and virtue signaling, only to discover that they can’t even get them to charge.

    Reply
  11. Jeff Eardley

    Mark, good on you. The EV dream is becoming a nightmare over here as our smug eco-warriors collide with potholes and wind up with horrendous repair costs. Long live the truckers.

    Reply
  12. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Mark, I’m a big fan of the rondeau and employment of this form ensures you get your message across boldly and beautifully. It’s a message many will relate to in these days of lithium-battery imbecility. Great stuff!

    Reply
  13. Shamik Banerjee

    This poem has a precision that makes reading it all the more joyful, in addition to its subject. I smiled at ‘It drinks too much’ because it reminded me of some elders who used to say this exact line. You’ve made excellent use of the Rondeau form, Mark.

    Reply
  14. C.B. Anderson

    I’d be lost without my beat-up Tacoma. I’ll give it up when Elon Musk gives me a Tesla pickup to test drive.

    Reply
  16. Mark F. Stone

    Roy, Paul E., Norma, Gigi, Paul F., Joseph, Mike, Stephen, Cynthia, Phil, Cheryl, Jeff, Susan, Shamik, C.B., and James, Thank you for your comments and your kind words. My best wishes to each of you! Mark

    Reply
  18. Sally Cook

    Mark –

    I’m with you, as is anyone who lives in the country is.
    Tell me, are you a former resident of, or do you have relatives in Las Vegas? If so, we may be closely related.

    Reply
    • Mark F. Stone

      Sally, The answer to both questions is no. But if we were related, I would be pleased to learn of it. Mark

      Reply
      • Sally Cook

        Mark –
        What a graceful response! As Stone is both my mother’s maiden name and my middle name are Stone, I thought I would give it a shot — it’s the genealogist in me.

  19. Margaret Coats

    I like the poem, but why not notice the maims/flames comparison in lines 12-13? Better alive than dead, but maimed is serious. Mark, what’s the point? Truck drivers too tough to care?

    Reply
    • Mark F. Stone

      Margaret, My thinking is that if there is more car surrounding me, there is less chance of a serious injury. I’m glad that you like the poem. Mark

      Reply
  20. Warren Bonham

    None of my kids are married yet. Unfortunately, I doubt I will have any influence over who they end up marrying. On the other hand, I can control what type of vehicle I drive. I’ve never owned a truck but I’m leaning that way for my next purchase (your poem certainly helped).

    Reply

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