Welcome to Earth: Day 18

I was in the backseat on the left

Because siblings have rules about things like that

Reading the CD case of the new Sturgill album

Asking my dad what a pollywog was

He said It's a tadpole

But we're not that kind of Southern

We were on the backroads in Salisbury

By the meat-packing plant, holding our breath 

Because I swear you could smell the death

But he kept that Camry moving like a getaway car

I was using my birthright to be a nuisance

Kicking seats and are we there yet

Hiding cinnamon gum and sticky wrappers

Under the front seats for a smelly surprise

Dad got me buttermilk pancakes the size of my 10-year-old face

The ones from Piggly Wiggly, to shut me up for the drive

And I covered my face in syrup as he sang (He would only sing Willie and Sturgill)

We were both getting sappy because he was saying

Holding you is the greatest love I've ever known

And I knew all was forgiven

The way I drained his wallet and his patience

I knew Daddy was as soft as these pancakes

And he loved his girls as sweet as the syrup

Prompt: "Like our villanelle prompt from a week ago, this prompt plays around with song lyrics, but in a very specific context – singing while riding in a car. Take a look at Ellen Bass’s poem, “You’re the Top.” Now, craft your own poem that recounts an experience of driving/riding and singing, incorporating a song lyric."