Poems and State
Fair – Part Two
At Emmanuel
Presbyterian
As I read part of
my poem group about
STATE FAIR – I remembered
I rode on my bike,
2001,
Past the church
the afternoon
Of the nine one
one attack.
The fairgrounds
seemed empty,
Early, I drew
Incubator chicks.
At the stand they
said I was
Not needed that
day, I should
Come in The next
day. I drew
From a bench
The vertical
conveyer belt
Corn roaster, the
walls of the stand,
The shelf where
the radio
Was on, and was
saying
Something about
An attack on New
York.
I had delivered
papers
For two and a half
years.
I had never owned
a car.
Those years, twice
the winter
Snow became very
deep.
I felt I was
A Bing and
Grondahl Christmas
Plate, a white and
blue night where I
Pushed along my
cart.
After I got back
that day
And listened to
the radio in the
Apartment kitchen
It said there was
a News Tribune
Special at the
grocery. On my bike
Past the spanish
style church
Past the square
gray Gothic
Pavement, grass,
parking
A sentence I wrote
before,
Taupe to sienna to
a time
Of gold late
afternoon. It is very still
My bike moves
along
For the special at
the grocery.
Did I bring one or
two
Around that
afternoon to buildings?
Nothing
moved. All was silent.
In the special
Gary Locke our governor
Would speak at a
memorial
At the fairgrounds
in the morning.
I got up and
delivered the News Tribune
With the first
story about the attack
I bathed and
dressed
And attended the
memorial
Before the shift I
had
At the Fairgrounds
stand,
Near some of the
rides
Near the
midway. I brought
Condiments from
the walk-in refrigerator
Washed
lemons, I washed potatoes
And and wrapped
them in foil.
I carried more
boxes of lemons
And potatoes in
from the walk-in
Refrigerator and
had a potato
At my break in the
Duris black
Tee shirt with the
large
Medallion with an
elephant
On the back.
After two years
delivering
Papers I had
applied for food stamps.
From Job Source
I could get a job
at the fair,
I got up the next
morning
And delivered the
paper.
It had more
stories about the attack.
I took the bus to
the fairgrounds
Again, and I
washed lemons
And potatoes, and I
Took the bus back
and I listened
To the radio in
the apartment kitchen.
