THE SPARE PARTS DUMP
It’s a charnel house of metal
trolled by do-it-yourself mechanics;
a Mustang enthusiast is knee-deep in hubcaps,
digging for his fantasy
while another guy’s on the lookout
for a rear bumper in one piece;
some denizens have the haughty ease of haute couture
as they search not just for model
but a particular year;
others fish for headlamps
or hood ornaments,
disinter an old accident
for a grille or nameplate;
suave and greasy longs for foreign,
Italian or French,
a seat that once cushioned the ass
of a beautiful woman;
so many cars in this mountain of rust,
so many rats who’ve lived
in just about all of them;
Toyotas glint in the sunshine
or weep in the rain,
and, come moonlight,
it’s hard to tell what’s shattered glass
and what’s eyes of the Doberman pinschers;
it astonishes that folks go looking for a loved one
in the wreckage of Fords and Chryslers,
that the most elegant thing in some lives,
is an old car radio;
most of the ones who wander through the junkyard
are old and graying,
a few trailed by youngsters
who get their schooling in the art
of getting a lot for a little
(even if what they’re getting
looks like even less);
but it’s like popping the cork on champagne
when a fan-belt’s as good as new,
or a battery still has some juice in it;
everywhere you look,
there’s someone with their arms raised,
screaming “Halleluiah”;
in this church, an Audi brake pedal
can absolve any or all General Motors’ sins.
WHEN COPS PULLED A BODY FROM THE RIVER
Though ubiquitous
in real life, the river has
left my subconscious alone
until now. Though
as familiar as a dog’s
lick, it’s stayed out
of dreams and
especially nightmares,
like when I’d be the
one drowning.
But the cops are
pulling some drenched
fool out of its brown waters.
They’ve slumped a body
on the banks, are keeping
the people back. The white
angels are now garbed in
black. Ducks turn into
vultures. Songbirds
depart. Crows move in.
From now on, no one
who goes swimming
will ever make it
out of there alive.
The church lowers
its cross now Jesus is done
with saving.
Image Credit: ©Pinterest
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