Service Worker
He comes
home
after a long
day at work
and she says
you smell
like gas
like oil
like I don't
know what
he says, I work
with gas
oil
and some-
times I'm
not even sure
what, but
there it is
and it's
on me
when I go
to people's
homes and
they are
nervous and
waiting for me
they say
can't you
smell it
the gas?
I say no I
smell your cat
what you're
cooking, what's
been lost on
your rugs, so
when you smell
gas when you
smell oil you
smell me
Two-Cents
funny how those
that don’t know
are the loudest
to tell you what
they do know
which is what
they don’t know
We All Lost Money
It all started when our son’s drunk pal rolled our car
We all lost money
The drunk lost his license for almost two years
Couldn’t leave the state neither
Sweetheart said, “At least it’s a beautiful state”
“Maybe at your age”, young drunk quipped back
Too stupid to realize how at his age Sweetheart
Cut timber, snowshoed to the road, slept by lamplight
And lived with me doing all of this while
Listening now to one more dwarf selfish thought
Afterwards, all our vehicles bottomed out
Machines went jerky
All we did was travel to & fro seeking repairs
We heard the geese fly over once while crossing a parking lot
We waited to pay in a dollar store for
Two pairs of warm socks, some tights and
A Mickey and Minnie Mouse nite-lite
For supper Sweetheart cut up an apple into white slices
Sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar
It was something I waited for
Shadow
Seaside —
boat in the yard
bigger than the house
—————————
Bob Arnold
Heaven Lake
Longhouse 2018
