Sights and Sounds of Morning

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by William Stobb


Run early get home coffee's automatically made
eat fruit shower dress kiss
wife leaving early hustle
children through the kitchen and out
to the sidewalk—love you be good
get smart be nice love you love you bye.
Now before I start writing this poem
water new grass seed planted
where dog piss brought up dirt.
After hose hiss something
walkie-talkie? in the alley
stop listen notice eventually count
at least six small birds
hunting the interior of our ancient lilac.
Mostly some kind of finch or sparrow
but one woodpecker in there I see
ripping bugs out of old wood.
Birds live this way but trees die
so I ring the chime to scare him off
like I can stop the processes.
Lovely pattern doesn't even
look at me—red crown striking striking
in decay I call landscaping.
Again the walkie-talkie
what the hell is going on I poke my nose
across the fenceline.
Between squad cars behind
my garage
two officers in riot gear
flank a neighbor smoking
a cigarette with his two
cuffed hands.


Comments

  1. LydiaJune 28, 2009 at 1:20 AM

    Is the song New Shoes here as your way of confirming for us that you won't be wearing nurse shoes for awhile, or ever again?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Batteson.IndJune 28, 2009 at 3:06 AM

    This is a lovely random post... :-) Not sure if the poem is delightful or incredibly dark.... have to read it again...

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJune 28, 2009 at 7:06 AM

    I didn't see the poem as particularly dark, but I can have a rather dark sense of humor. I think it's one of those odd "What the hell--Oh well" moments that can occur, especially in certain neighborhoods.
    The photo is actually from our neighborhood. An unidentified body was found in our down-the-street neighbor's driveway the morning we got back from Kentucky. Never did find out who it was. Perhaps someone from the busstop there on the corner.
    So I read it as Daily Randomness:>)
    And Lydia, the contract vote begins today at 6:30pm. I've heard through the grapevine the hospital backed down on the major issues, but we shall see. Still looking into travel nursing. The economy won't be down forever, there's still a nursing shortage, and it just may be the right time in our family life. HoneyHaired will be off to college in two years and Hubby and I could go together or alternate or have romantic getaways. We need to research. But I heard the song when I was driving HoneyHaired home and it's a great dance song. Fit the mood of the evening:>)Happy Sunday! I have more driving duty today--may have more songs to post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RudeeJune 28, 2009 at 7:17 AM

    Like new shoes, change is good.

    ReplyDelete
  5. OwenJune 28, 2009 at 7:52 AM

    Nice slice of life poem, love the watering grass seed where dog piss brought up dirt... funny, we have two cats, and they both love to sleep for hours in the exact same spot in our front yard, so there's a patch there where the grass died from the cats laying on it all the time...

    Ummm, that's a little disturbing that bodies are being found in neighbor's driveways...

    And thanks for the catchy New Shoes... like the "short on money but long on time" line...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mary EllenJune 28, 2009 at 9:20 AM

    Hey, I just threw some seed down in those pee-bare places yesterday - one more little synchronicity.

    ReplyDelete
  7. dsJune 28, 2009 at 9:32 AM

    Fingers crossed that the hospital comes to its senses--or, that the "new shoes" fit (love the song, thanks!)

    Owen's right, it is a tad disturbing to discover neighbor's driveways are dumping-grounds for anonymous bodies...

    Happy Sunday to you!

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownJune 28, 2009 at 9:49 AM

    Yep, a bit quirky, both the poem and someone finding a dead body in their driveway! Yikes!

    Hope all works to your advantage; who knows what change can bring?

    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownJune 28, 2009 at 9:59 AM

    LOL.
    Don't think it was a dumping so much as someone waiting or walking up to the bus stop, not feeling well and starting down our neighbor's driveway looking for help. They weren't home that weekend, for which they feel terrible, but I still don't think they would have known in time. Sounded like a cardiac event from the look of the gentleman. There was no sign of trauma, it wasn't treated as a crime scene. We never found out the identity, but I'm sure somebody knows. I haven't asked their daughter about it, she has a wedding coming up in a few weeks.

    ReplyDelete
  10. PyzahnJune 28, 2009 at 5:56 PM

    I love that song. Glad someone remembers it besides me. I thought Paolo was a shoe in for stardom, but I haven't heard from him since. Such a nice Italian boy.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Deanna Bland Hiott PhD, MSN, RNJune 28, 2009 at 8:12 PM

    Eerie...

    ReplyDelete

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Hey, thanks for your thoughts and your time:>)

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