THE RED CADILLAC

When the first time I saw the title I was ‘wow’ so unique, but after I finished reading it, it’s just like nothing. It didn’t leave a deep impression to me. It was just like a poem for the author’s own sake. According to me, there’s something different between a poem which is created for someone else contains a message and a poem written just to aim the author’s goal. I don’t know why I just feel that they are different. It’s just based on my preference.

So, for me this poem is not good enough. This ‘The Red Cadillac’ is just like someone who is so much addicted to material. There’s no motion. From this poem, Willie “Slick” Williams just wants to show the reader that he has already depended to his Cadillac, the turtle wax, and the white chicks. Well, there’s something’s lacking here, just like the narration that Willie “Slick” Williams reads William Carlos Williams “So Much Depends”, then writes a letter to the producers of the TV makeover show Pimp My Ride, explaining why his car should be featured on the program, but where’s exactly the part tell us that his Cadillac need a reparation? Why does he write it while Pimp My Ride is a TV program to repair cars? Does he need the Cadillac to be repaired?

The first line is good enough because he totally copies the William Carlos Williams’. It shows us that William ‘Slick’ depends on something. The second, third, and fourth stanzas tell us the things that he so much depends. They are the Cadillac, the turtle wax to clean the car, and the white chicks. It implicitly shows us such glamorous condition, doesn’t it?

The first, red Cadillac slick, glamorous enough, even just hears this name.

Second, turtle wax. It’s the product of the largest automotive appearance company in the world and distributes its products in more than 90 countries. It seems like many people use it to clean their car. For me this turtle wax is not enough to tell us that the car is broken. Because it probably that the car just needs to be cleaned, not because this is an old car.

Third, beside the white chicks. Chicks here can be analyzed as the white (American) girls.

Then once again where’s the part that the producers of Pimp My Ride will take a conclusion that this red Cadillac needs a makeover? If I’m not mistaken, Pimp My Ride will choose the car which is broken, can’t be really used and need reparation. So what’s wrong with this Cadillac? Even this ‘William’ wrote ‘beside the white chicks’ means he can still go around the city carrying this ‘white chicks’ (the white cute (American) girls), doesn’t it?

This poem is just lacking in the part telling the reader how much broken the car. Why? It’s because in my imaginary this Cadillac is in a good condition, and this boy lives so glamorously with the ‘turtle wax’ and ‘white chicks’.