All of the people in their Toyotas

[PrinceMyshkin]

Who will succour them?

They drive north and south
along av. du Parc,
turn east on blvd. Mt. Royal,
then south again on rue St. Laurent,
and carry on.

All of the people in their Toyotas.
Have you known them?
Who has known them?

[white camellia]

'All of the people...their...', was impressed by the humanistic outlook that frees one from personal mundane affairs to the concern for all members of our species. But why not Hondas? Just a small wonder.

[PrinceMyshkin]

'All of the people...their...', was impressed by the humanistic outlook that frees one from personal mundane affairs to the concern for all members of our species. But why not Hondas? Just a small wonder.

It's a very pertinent question. First, the thought came to me when I happened to notice one Toyota after another. I did certainly contemplate writing Hondas instead because of their (greater?) ubiquity - and possibly if there had been Hondas going by I'd have chosen that, but a) Hondas are by now a cliche for the prevalence of Japanese-made cars and b) I felt the line needed the extra beat I got with Toyotas...

In a similar vein, if the cars passing by in such number had happened to be Chevrolets, I'd have discarded that option since they have become something of a symbol for commonplace US-life.

[DanielBenoit]

Fascinating, especially the final stanza! It seems to offer a subjectivity of percpective in that we are all isolated from each other. That person next to us at the stoplight, who is he/she?

It goes to prove that all of modern life is mundane isolationism revolving around the newest products and cars.

[Bar22do]

... but the inquisitive attention you bring to "all those people in their Toyotas" reminds us of the importance of being aware we are all connected... that it is up to us to smile at passers-by, to say something pleasant to a neighbour next door as we both walk down the stairs, to engage in a short conversation with a bus driver on our way to work, to make a gentle remark to that gloomy lady having beer at the last corner of a café how expressive are the movements of her hands... in short it definitely invites us to take the initiative and remedy that "mundane isolationism"...
an important poem, Prince (do you drive a Toyota yourself?)

[paperleaves]

Oh Jer! This brought a smile to my face.
I drive a Toyota! hahaha. The last stanza is rich in its inquisition, I can hear you reading this poem at a poetry slam..."Who will succour them?"

[Silas Thorne]

Yes, but so what? Jerry, you know I always appreciate and admire your wordcraft, but here what other people see as 'mundane isolationism', just seems to me to be mundane.

[Virgil]

I drive a Toyota too! Hahahaha. I enjoyed this. Only slight qualm, for you think about, why repeat the line "All of the people in their Toyotas" since it's already in the title? I'm not sure the repeated line adds anything. On the other hand, you might want to change the title.

[PrinceMyshkin]

... but the inquisitive attention you bring to "all those people in their Toyotas" reminds us of the importance of being aware we are all connected... that it is up to us to smile at passers-by, to say something pleasant to a neighbour next door as we both walk down the stairs, to engage in a short conversation with a bus driver on our way to work, to make a gentle remark to that gloomy lady having beer at the last corner of a café how expressive are the movements of her hands... in short it definitely invites us to take the initiative and remedy that "mundane isolationism"...
an important poem, Prince (do you drive a Toyota yourself?)

I heartily agree with your observations. They bring to mind an incident. As I was leaving a restaurant with one of my sons, his wife and their two children, the older of the latter, Gabriel, perhaps 10 at the time, piped up:

"I just smiled at an old woman and she gave me a great big smile. I wonder why people don't smile at them more often since it makes them happy."

No, I don't drive a Toyota, but rather a very dinged-up 1999 Mazda Protege.

[Buh4Bee]

I've seen these people drive around Montreal. I stay in my Suzuki.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Yes, but so what? Jerry, you know I always appreciate and admire your wordcraft, but here what other people see as 'mundane isolationism', just seems to me to be mundane.

It wasn't the mundane I had in mind but the homogeneity and anonymity, as if not only the cars but the route they travelled were cut from the same cookie-cutter.

Thanks for your candour.

[Silas Thorne]

Just being honest from my own perspective, glad you don't mind. After reading it again though, the comment actually seems a bit harsher than I intended.
Respects,
Silas

[PrinceMyshkin]

I drive a Toyota too! Hahahaha. I enjoyed this. Only slight qualm, for you think about, why repeat the line "All of the people in their Toyotas" since it's already in the title? I'm not sure the repeated line adds anything. On the other hand, you might want to change the title.

The line in question was originally the opening line, meant to be a neutral objective observation at first but, on repetition, I hoped it might have the element of a lament, an empathetic lament.

I feel now that there is a problem with the existing first line where I think I stepped out of my intended role as a mainly dispassionate observer. I can imagine someone retorting to that line: And you in your Honda, BMW, Chevy or Mazda Protege or even on your bike or on foot - why are you less in need of succour than those others?

[AuntShecky]

In a positive way,this reminded me of two "pre-existing"ditties. The first was by that extremely over-rated group, the Beatles, whose "Eleanor Rigby" asked the musical question,"All the lonely people/ Where do they all come from?"

The other one was by the legendary Pete Seeger, who incidentally, occasionally sails his sloop, Clearwaternear my neck o' the woods. One of his songs has this lyric:
"Little houses on the hillside, little houses made of ticky-tacky. . .and they all look the same."

Just a few feet down the hill from me are a bunch of condominums, totally overpriced at a third of a mill--for half a house with a postage-stamp sized lawn! They've not made out of "ticky-tacky" but of fiberboard. (It's true--I saw them being constructed.) You can bet your Toyota
that they all look dreadfully the same. I keep wondering if some drunk will come home to the wrong house on New Year's Eve.

The buildings in our apt complex, up the hill from the pricey condos, all look the same as well. As a matter of fact, it looks like a huge Motel 6, especially at night when the parking lot is packed with Toyotas (and every other make of car.) The only difference is, if you go to the rental office, they ain't gonna give you a free continental breakfast!

[firefangled]

In a positive way,this reminded me of ... "Eleanor Rigby" (with) the musical question,"All the lonely people/ Where do they all come from?"

This did remind me of Eleanor Rigby, though more subtly stated. I liked it.

I feel now that there is a problem with the existing first line where I think I stepped out of my intended role as a mainly dispassionate observer. I can imagine someone retorting to that line: And you in your Honda, BMW, Chevy or Mazda Protege or even on your bike or on foot - why are you less in need of succour than those others?

Honda: Because I can get my lawn mower and my car serviced together

BMW: Because I never have to pay for maintenance

Chevy: Because it's the company that created the '58 Chevy, the sexiest convertible ever made.

Mazda Protege: Because it is where this poem was conceived?

A Schwinn Bike: Fuel economy

Feet: ibid