It’s quite a sight
To be rescued by a garbage truck
Before anyone or anything else with luck
Rises
So early this morning
After the big snow
Schools closed business delayed
Road uncut by any car
Birds sleeping in
The synapse of tree limbs white feathered with fins
Reaching out for one another in an apologetic wind
But those guys
One impossibly young the other impossibly old
Defiant
Or miserable
Is there a difference, these cosmic travelers?
Not making much money
But here they are
Unmoved by all our mythical possibilities
Holding to a relentless backend schedule
Swinging down up and through the drifts
They lift
Our buried bin to the automatic contraption
Right on time no matter what
Emptying again
Another week’s waste from all our lives.
I used to scrub my memory clean
I packed the sadness
Into an old cupboard
Before I packed my tiredness
Into the night
And slept soundly
I locked the rain and the wind outside
I never let the cupboard open nor let the sun in
Hoping that the sadness will degenerate and walk away
With the old days
And with the old cupboard
When the garbage truck comes by one day
The garbage truck goes by; I flash
To seven years ago.
I’d lift my grandson up and then,
His eager face a’glow…
We’d step outside so he could watch
The sanitation crew
Dump everything recycled
In the truck for it to chew.
The men would wave and we would wait
Until they drove away,
A little part of our routine
On babysitting day.
These days, he barely notices
When pick-up’s taking place,
But I remember and it brings
A smile to light my face.
One habit to which I adhere
I clean out my Ford once a year
Back seat yet to fill
Keep truckin’ until
I’m no longer able to steer
On Mondays when I babysit,
There's one thing that's a certain hit -
A visit from the garbage truck
(Unless the need for naptime's struck).
We hear the truck as it draws near
And Henry makes it very clear
We'd better get ourselves outside.
(Such passion cannot be denied.)
We race out to the driveway's end
To greet our Monday morning friend.
The worker waves a friendly hi
But Henry's serious and shy.
He watches, though, with great intent
And gazes at me, quite content.
I understand, though he can't speak,
That we're all set until next week.
rear loader garbage
truck stopped by site manager..
loud voices door slams
someone just had a
chat with the boss losing war..
boss in pouring rain
truck drives speedily
away as fast as will go..
umbrella still stands
Female boss/ male truck driver
Garbage truck silent
Key turned roar noise stink now
Monster eats garbage
As we stop, I pull out my jar of Vic's vapor rub
I put some up my nostrils, this job you cannot love
But it pays the bills, I make my living
Trash day is when people are most giving
They are selfless when getting rid of what they see as junk
Whew! That smell from the back of a garbage truck
I spot a pair of shoes for my kid
I will wash them first, get rid of the odor of rotted squid
My niece's birthday is coming up soon
I found a playhouse with dishes, forks, cups and spoons
It's family night tonight at home
The unknown video I found will be shown
Finding the right stuff is a matter of luck
It is just my point of view from the back of a garbage truck
I found a half a bucket of KFC
I take a smell, it smells as fresh as can be, what a surprise for my family
Two hours later, the family can't keep their meal down
They are so ungrateful about the food I found
I am on a strict budget, I have to find a way to save a couple bucks
More dinners will be found because I work on the back of a garbage truck
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