You know the economy's bad
when people are lined up around the block
to apply for the job
of the wicked witch.
They've been lined up all night
waiting for their chance to prove
it's nothing at all
to climb a broom
and cackle like a wall-street speculator
just before the crash
to whisk....into the starry suburban night
and fly fly fly... .....................and all without benefits .....................of body armor.
I saw them -- huddled masses
waiting for the chance to make
an impression ............on their one circut ........................on autopilot around the moonlit sky.
Even I took a stab
and found it's not so hard
to zoom out above the cul-de-sac of cape cods -- ............a surprisingly predictable circle.
But just when I was ready to take the job
I had a vision
of some wind-blown
foreclosed home swirling in from Kansas .......tumbling from the sky and landing forever on my face.
No.
It wasn't worth the price.
Added: Wednesday, July 2, 2014 / Used with permission.
Kim Jensen is a writer, educator, and activist whose books include, The Woman I Left Behind, Bread Alone, and The Only Thing that Matters. Her fiction, poems, and essays have appeared in many journals and anthologies. Her doctoral dissertation in Creative Writing is a post-September 11th novel called Forget Jerusalem, with an accompanying critical thesis. Active in the peace and justice movement for many years, especially the struggle for Palestinian liberation, Kim is associate professor of English at the Community College of Baltimore County. She is the founding director of the Community Book Connection, an interdisciplinary literacy initiative that demonstrates the vital connection between classroom learning and social issues facing the broader community.
