Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Empty ball cap knownothow

  

Cody kicked his bucket


But I know knonothow, heard the idle chatter on the last bus home 


A gas station guy on the counters other side


He was ringing up beers just yesterday  




 *


Bussing from the pool over in cheery blossom


Feeling not too bad for Thursday


There at the mall got on the grimnews, out of the mouth of Rene  




*




He just die


Just like that


Another hard fact


Just like that


____




Probably the Covid I'd think, he was heavy, 40 in a wide orange vest


Smiling Colorado, a blond ole hick, said he knew


             Nostradamus from his history class 




Lived at the corn, the unicorn inn, said his nayburr near                     burnt it up,




He smiled and moved his big ballcap, rubbed his belly


 tweren't a flu, twas mounting spew  




*




He just die


Just a fact


No more alive


That's where he at


___




Sweating in the field there                         pump #9


Idaho family gotta make good time, 


school starts up and dad's three jobs 


Cody wipes his brow, sounds lots like mine 


That's why I'm here on the worst damn road,


  filling tanks


 with petroleum 




*




Back inside turn the slushy machine, 20 little cameras record the scene 


A maskless montage of death on the go, 


   poor Cody poor Colorado,  we all know 


Life in a motel


 so far from home, friends to all but close to none 




Standing and breathing just hours close passed, 


 Cody lie still and none soon asked 


____




Why we go 


Just like that


Leaving no mark 


Just an empty ball cap.








SE PDX 


No comments: