day SEVENTY NINE

Survival

When we talk about money what we are really saying is I am so afraid
The retired ladies at the bar talk about Medicaid and the election
There's been another shooting and that abandoned house finally burned down for good
It's easy to believe that every day death is winning

Just because we drink a six-pack together in the neighbor's yard
It doesn't mean we know each other
Watching a baby take her awkard steps feels less like a triumph when she hauls off and kicks the dog laughing

But at night sometimes we say the word love and it isn't something abstract
Down along the hillside there are deer standing in the road
In the morning we'll know if they survived

--Kristofer Collins