Grinding Gears

Occasionally I see someone
Learning to drive
A manual transmission,
And I smile
With the memories it brings.
I watch them struggle
Down the road,
One lurch at a time,
Grinding gears as they go,
Cursing the clutch
And the person
Who invented
Such a cantankerous thing.
I sense their frustration
Dealing with a car
With a mind of its own.
I empathize as well
With the car
For what it has to endure.
I’d be nervous and jumpy too!