It’s a January Day
it’s the removing
of a fresh blanket
of new snow
every morning
the careful way
you pluck
the windshield wipers
letting them fall
three times
against the glass
it’s the tires
always leaking air
in January
as if tire air
migrates to Florida
for the winter
it’s the 24 years
of kicking snow clumps
off already
too heavy
work boots
the 24 years
of doing two days
worth of work
every day
it’s a life
of only making enough
to get by
a week at a time
it’s an aging pick-up truck
with arthritic brakes
and an engine
in desperate need
of a massage
it’s a tiredness
that rides shotgun
across
uneven railroad tracks
down
sleeping streets
into
ice cold factories
where machines growl
before you’ve even
had time
to warm up
____________
America is Ranch Dressing
America is
Applebee’s margaritas
at 7pm on Tuesday nights
America is
a dollar store
on every
50 cent street corner
America is
a dying
Frisch’s Big Boy
in every neighborhood
America is
rising 2×4 prices
because Wall Street
owns
all the sawmills
America is
Olive Garden wine
and an endless bowl
of pasta
a c-pap machine
with a smartphone app
civil war politics
in local elections
tinder hookups
in a meat grinder
social media
and oxymoron
America is
50,000 dollars
in student loan debt
and no job
to go to
America is
ranch dressing
in your stocking
on Christmas morning
