The Bargain-Bought Bicycle

 I distinctly remember the excitement my young son felt when he took his saved-up allowance money to buy a bicycle that the neighbor's boy owned.  I wrote this poem about it:


                                         His tire was flat.
                                             The boy who sold
                                                 him the bicycle
                                         knew it was just
                                              about worn out.
                                                  Sadly he studied
                                         the rubber that once
                                              had been round
                                                   and solidly firm.
                                         Trust was shattered
                                              and doubt raised,
                                                    while honesty hung
                                          as useless as
                                               his twenty dollar
                                                      bargain--bought bicycle.