poem of the day 05.24.10

early morning sunday blues

the cat cries hungry at 4 a.m.

the superintendent with his forever cigarette
outside my bedroom window

blowing yellow smoke

i dream that he is an old man
dressed in maroon
playing a harmonica

trying to break in

oil colored sky

oil slathered birds in mississippi

millions burning coal-black in the gulf

dried blood in my sink

insomnia week turning toward the next

i think to call the dentist once more
before they let us go from the job

100 of us?

300 of us?

whatever brand of mercy
they are selling this coming fiscal year

inside broken eggshell america

the greatest country
residing in a world that’s too poor to brag