Another Spring in the Recession

Green has only begun

to drip from branches.

The air holds a humid chill,

but the birds have begun

to rejoice.

There is baseball on a radio

as workingmen clear the yard.

They’ve recently agreed (again)

to lower their wages, but these days

work is work.

The blue sky encourages

cats to hunt birds, and slowly

they return to form.

A lonely dog chews

his own leg.

A suburban family is going

with hot dogs, beans, and

potato salad for dinner.

It is a decision both seasonal

and economic.

Heroic

We spoke a bit about work, which was safe.

Then we talked about the weather, even safer.

I wanted to tell him he’s a good guy,

a decent human being, and if most people

just tried to be halfway decent, then

we’d have a lot fewer problems

like poverty and hunger and violence.

But I didn’t say anything like that.

I guess because I didn’t want to sound corny

like, well, you never climbed a mountain,

or cured a disease.  You didn’t get rich

and you never were a strong swimmer,

but you’ve always been a decent person.

I was afraid it would come across

that way, and not the way that I intended

which is to say, You’re a decent person,

and so few people really are.  I believe

it’s the greatest thing that we can achieve.

It is heroic, and what I aspire to.

Instead, we spoke a bit about the weather.

There’s rain.  Which is not always unpleasant.

Waiting for the Parking Lot to Become a Forest

There is now
a gravel lot
where my grade school
used to be.

The candy store
is a head shop,
record store sits empty,
and the bowling alley
is a parking lot.

I'm still here though,
a bit older now,
watching pavement
give way to saplings.