How To Jumpstart a Car

How to Jumpstart a Car:

By Gretel Beal 

Before you start

Keep metal objects away from the battery. If they cause a spark, it could be dangerous

It could be dangerous

But Nelson taught me to take risks and be creative and someone once said the most dangerous of men are the creative ones and don't you need a spark of creativity to get started? 

Proceed to park both cars in neutral next to each other so that they're close but not touching

Close but not touching

Like Paris 

And maybe since its 5,000 miles away, it doesn't seem that close. But I promise it's closer than you think. And once I finish learning how to jumpstart a car

It can't be too hard to get there again, right?

Next open the bonnet

Connect the red leads to the positive terminals in each car

Then, connect the black leads to the negative terminals in each car

Don't mix these up because you can't connect a positive with a negative 

And someone once told me you can't be happy if you're sad but maybe everything's just a huge controversy 

And I'm still debating whether I'll use 

My gas money to drive across the country, living out of my trunk

Or waste it driving to a desk job every day 

But until my car is fixed, I'll stick with walking 

Start the engine of the working car and then proceed to turn on the engine of the car with the dead battery

The car should start 

The singer should sing

The writer should write

The painter should paint

And I keep forgetting this is only a poem about broken cars and not broken hearts 

But sometimes all you need is a little spark

And if you thought your dead battery was the end

Think again because you have a long road ahead 

And if you still don't know how to jumpstart a car

Then maybe I just never learned how to write 

But I learned to take risks, be myself and let go

And if that's all you learned, then that's all you need to know