there is a cycle that will not quit
it is the wash in the machine
it is a washer with quarters always being shoved into it
it's dirty and it's in the public laundromat
behind it there is grunge and stagnant water and lint
(lint that is not yours.)
there is a cycle
it will not stop
you hit it and bang on it and yell expletives
you go outside and run around the block with
your roll of quarters and detergent in your arms
a homeless man begs you for both
you freak out and ignore him and run to the pay phone
to make a call.
but it is a pay phone that will not hang up
and the previous caller's call is still on the buzz
and the quarters are stuck in the middle
and Superman is banging on the window to please let him in.
there is an emergency
on 12th street
that he must get to
now.
14 May 2007
there is a cycle that will not quit
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2 comments:
yeah*yeah!
I like the humor mixed in with the frustration. The line "lint that is not yours" is startling, because suddenly the poem is about you, or me, or someone, whereas before that line it was the description of a scene. I like it.
Did you know several people at my work call me Superman? When I don't smile at them, they ask if I forgot my cape. It's tough work being a superhero.
I'm as addicted to cell phones as anyone else, and surprisingly germ phobic for having been a Peace Corps volunteer, but even so: I miss seeing people use pay phones.
Superman, help!
...I love that they call you that.
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