THE GARBAGE TRUCK IS COMING
The
garbage truck is coming
Down
the street at 6am
Its
lights illuminate the darkness
And
its noise rattles and clangs
Telling
people who’ve been sleeping
It
might be
Time
for work
The
men leap from the side and back
Some
weary
Some
strong
They’ve
been doing this for years
And
it always stays the same
Sure
You
might find the odd piece of jewellery
Or
a strange gift from an even stranger soul
But
make no mistake
This
job is monotony incarnate
And
doesn’t get easier as you go
You
get used to the smell
They
say
Stop
noticing it after a week
Mostly
you move at a snail’s pace
And
get funny looks from women
In
expensive clothes
It
doesn’t matter that you’re a poet
It
doesn’t matter you race bikes
In
California on the weekends
And
know where all the celebs like to go
It
doesn’t matter your life
Is
more exciting than theirs
And
you know things they’ll never know
You’re
a garbage man
You’ll
always be a garbage man
Get
used to it
I
watch them drag the rubbish
From
the drive to the truck
And
back to the street
Their
faces are blank
Most
of them
Tired
And
bored
And
old
The
young ones move with gusto
They
haven’t learned yet
That
garbage keeps on coming
No
matter how fast you try and go
I
hear them banter with each other
Across
the street and down the road
My
wife has got the kettle on
The
kitchen bathed in half light
The
T.V sound turned low
The
orange light is getting closer
Making
its way through the dawn
The
driver eases forward
Rubs
his eyes and starts to yawn
Eventually
they reach me
My
house at the end of the block
I
feel a sadness fill my heart
‘Hi’
I
say
The
early morning cold
Blowing
through my bones
‘I’m
the new guy
Where
is it I should start?’
BIO; Steven
Storrie has worked as a cable T.V repair man, dishwasher,
choreographer, ice cream vendor and junk yard attendant. Tired of this
shit he is currently locked in his basement working on his first poetry
collection, bickering with his neighbours and storing the baseballs he
keeps when they are hit into his yard. You can find him at the website
he runs, Black Coffee For Breakfast, here http://renegadepriest11.wix.
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