Maintaining

[Todd]

Hi AttnAttack, welcome to the site! 

First off when you give comments as to why you wrote the poem you build a subtext into the reading that the poem hasn't earned. You make it difficult to tell if the poem is actually working.

That said, I do have one big suggestion that I think would really help your poem. Your title is not doing enough work for you. You have Owner's manual throughout the poem, so it hardly helps you as a title. Since I know your subtext, what if you simply retitled the poem: Divorce

Now the poem would hold a layered meaning you'd be talking about a car and more than a car.

A few more comments below:

I wrote this based on a real event that happened (my car still has a gallon of water in the trunk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) as well as about my divorce


the Owner’s manual says

change the oil every five thousand miles

high octane, unleaded fuel only

keep tire pressure around thirty-two--when you're breaking lines in a free verse poem think about what end words might emphasize your theme. I would try to rework the line so that it ended on "pressure" for example

check the treads every time you drive

 

doesn’t care anything about

leaky trunks

rainwater

my neglect

rusting

jack and iron

 

tire blew out on the interstate

tow trucks don’t come at three AM

 

the Owner’s manual says a great many things

about preventive care and routine maintenance

 

but it will not say

how to love your car--this is a nice ending especially with a title change

Just some thoughts for you.

Best,

Todd