Corner of Cedarwood and Northwest
Almost finished with my daily walk
my head throbs meekly
like the closeted demands
of a passive aggressive in-law
Gray Holstein clouds munch upon the blue sky
excreting an unsatisfying
50 degree weather
Nearby, a group of teenagers
just released from school
patch their insecurities
with indiscriminate utterances of profanity
Somewhere a car alarm honks continuously
every two and a half seconds
putting everyone on edge
To my right a drunken homelessman
sleeps jaggedly in the grass
A mangy black dog eyes me queerly
from the back of a beat-up pickup truck
Suddenly I realize
I have had my shirt on backwards
all day
Before me a steady line of cars
drags like chains upon the roadway
the faces of their occupants look as if
they care nothing for the problems of humanity
The slogan on the credit union reader board irritates me
as I wait for the signal to turn to walk
I tire of wearing these pajamas in public
and wonder when my rash will go away
When I get home I think I’ll call my girlfriend
and tell her, yes, I still love her
even though last night I agreed, yes
it would probably be best for her to leave now
and ride her bicycle back home
in the dark
“Corner of Cedarwood and Northwest” was originally published in The Gospel According to Matthew. Poem by Matthew Brouwer. 2012.
Copyright © 2012 by Matthew Brouwer
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