Skateboard

It is as purple as grape juice stains.
The wheels are as blue as the deep Pacific Ocean.
When it turns they sound like a car braking to a screeching halt.
It was born with a birthmark.
The scratched sides indicate all the fun and adventure we have had together and they are as rough as sandpaper.
The screws are rusted like an old abandoned bicycle that has been left on the street for plenty of years.
When it takes me for a ride it feels like I’m riding on a new paved road, as the wheels are as smooth as the surface of a marble table.
It makes me feel happy, just like the sight of a colourful rainbow.
The lattice fence pattern gives me better grip.
The rust on the screws looks just like a blazing hot bonfire.
The logos on the trucks are tattoos.

---
This poem was highly commended for Poetry Object 2013

Judge's notes:
The opening line had me hooked: “It’s as purple as grape juice stains.” The poem sustained my interest with its imaginative metaphors, and the author’s decision to show the skateboard’s flaws (scuffs and rust) alongside its virtues (smooth wheels) as features that make it loveable and unique.

~ Rachael Briggs, Judge, Poetry Object 2013