Ode to Tony

O Tony of TLC Auto Repairs,

may your business flourish ever more,

may the tooth fairy replace your top plate

with metallic finish white pearls.

O Tony, my heart stalled, I swear,

when the bloke at Waitara said

“I can see a thousand bucks there

just for the rust” and sent me

to the old Hungarian at Betta Batteries

who quoted me six hundred

for windscreen scratches,

welding and a brake pedal rubber.

But you, Tony, whom I had not seen for almost a summer,

welcomed me with your almost shiny smile:

“Is that door lock still working?”

and I knew your friendship had not wavered.

O Tony, when you handed over that pink slip

and said “Eighteen dollars”

I wanted to win the lottery and give you half,

I wanted to replace all the seals on your Datsun ZX

and personally blacken the tyres,

but I just reached into my pocket

and gave you ten bucks “for a beer”.

You’d made my day, my month, my year!