Produced by Dennis Camire
This week’s poem is by Bob MacLaughlin of Clifton. His most recent book is “Faulty Wiring” published by Moon Pie Press.
At War With The Town Snow Plow
By Bob MacLaughlin
I know it waits, its engine idling,
Up the road
Around the bend
Out of sight
While I shovel out mailbox
And driveway until every inch
Is clear and perfect.
I know the moment I’m back indoors
It will come roaring downhill
Gathering large chunks
Of heavy dirty snow and ice
To bury my masterpiece
In a hit-and-run gauntlet of rubble.
There’ll even be a busted branch
Sticking out of the nasty pile
Like a tongue
Taunting, “Na-na, na-na, na-na!”
Charging back into battle,
My shovel raised like a lance,
I’ll sling explosive epithets ahead of me
Though the truck will have
Already disappeared over the rise.
Later, just as I’m excavating
The mailbox again
And chopping down the blockade
So we can get our cars out,
The plow will speed by
On the other side of the road.
The driver will smile and wave.
And so will I.
Dennis Camire can be reached at dcamire@cmcc.edu
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