Lawrence 5th and Michigan
Every other morning at 8 am I wait for the bus
and every other morning
the old woman catty-cornered round the block
walks her little dog beside the car in the drive
Each day she watches
Bit-by-bit dirt infringes on the road
Weeds eat the stonework walk
Her stunted house hides behind shrubs
while cats haven under the porch
From there they skulk through pinetree shade
and mock the old lady
her thin blue leash
and little dog
Telephone poles march the street
the ground is cracked and rent
A post and wire fence meanders
askew here holed there
The yard clings to the hope of green
Mottled leaves fall and skitter to similar homes
staking out other lives in acres
The old woman encircles her home
and watches the world go by