I choose to eat outside because it's cataclysmic in there.
In the cafeteria, where they perch on plastic chairs.
Chirping away in flock hysteria.
Frantically peck-pecking away the crumbs
All of them are slowly going deaf -n- dumb.
They'll flitter off, gullets filled with gossip and shop talk.
To play solitaire on filthy keys.
I choose to roam outside their hellish squares.
Trying to stay off my knees whenever possible.
I choose to eat outside the burning carousel.
I fear that I might be going feral.
Nothing held back
Realness of the moment
Felling talk within and without
All Blending together
Making colored value
Times for the archive
Picture book size
Erasing need to analyze
Crisp shop talk
Today for life
Sitting on the very old court house square
New bank facility on the corner
Massive structure, commanding, once bare
This square once small stores center
People came to shop, talk, and visit
Some would go to the corner drug store
From the fountain get a shake and sit
Now that drugstore is torn down, no more
The grand hotel on another corner
Beautiful brick simple design square
Non-operational now vacant
In limbo waiting for revival
There are differences in what I have seen
Just in the way some are
But, after all the smoke has been blown away
Some are nice and some are mean
Some go to the top, some don't get that far
Some say a lot, some don't have much to say
Some drive fancy cars, others like to walk
The finest clothes some wear, some just what is clean
Macy's for some, a few go to Wal Mart
High powered speeches for some, others coffee shop talk
Some are heavy on the scales, some are lean
But most in one way or another have a heart
Some the Stock Market, Farmer's Market for some
Diamonds, gold for the rich, some just a wedding band
Money is the dividing line there
Some will take it all, others will just take it as it will come
Some will stab you in the back, others will shake your hand
Some wish on a star, some still believe in prayer
Some dwell in the city, others out in the country
Some don't even know where they are
Some are serious, others full of jokes
Some are into themselves, think about "just me"
Then some won't travel unless in a fancy car
People are people and folks are folks
Ka-chunk, ka-chunk, ka-chunk, ka-chunk
a shear blade stricking sheet metal, ka-chunk.
Cah-tink, cah-tink, cah-tink, cah-tink, cah-tink
a press pierces, notches and holes, cah-tink
Cha-boom, cha-boom, cha-boom, cha-boom, cha-boom.
Breaks form ninties on a blank sheet, cha-boom.
Zzzizz-zit, zzzizz-zit, zzzizz-zit, zzzizz-zit, zzzizz-zit,
The welder fills open corners, zzzizz-zit
Ssz-oowh, ssz-oowh, ssz-oowh, ssz-oowh, ssz-oowh,
A band saw cuts through copper tube, ssz-oowh.
Whirrr-fha, whirrr-fha, whirrr-fha, whirrr-fha, whrrrm-fha
Radial saws glide through steel rods, whirrr-fha.
Ka-chunk, cah-tink,cha-boom,zzzizz-zit, ssz-oowh,
Sounds of industry in a plant I know.
An eyesore in the community as progress takes its toll.
Windows broken, rust on the old metal frames
Vacant, dust filled, old broken file cabinet in the corner
Taking a walk through it, I could feel the past
Wondered how many lives this old building touched
A way of life for so many
Security in a weekly paycheck
A faded time card on the floor where the office was
Dust covered wooden desk
A monument to the industrial age
A table with the boards curved from age
Where people ate lunch, talked, laughed, cried
Discussions about the kids, sports, politics, shop talk
Feel the past? Yes, days gone by, good days
Boards rotted on the loading dock, a rusted hand truck
No ventilation, no complaints, an honest days work
Clipboard hanging on the wooden beam
Can’t you feel it?
Shuffling into the parking lot, lunch cans in hand
See you tomorrow
Kids waiting for Dad to come home, supper on.
Just another day.
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