developments.
new buildings
like cardboard
suitcases
look good
from a distance
but it doesn't
take much
before they
peel, fade,
burst at the
seams, unable
to carry the
load for long--
the accidental
accumulations
of routine
and greed
and desperate
need to hold
on, souvenirs
that gather dust,
a 4-walled
belief in
security,
the faith that some
things are worth
returning to
but none too
precious to leave.
a roof
over head
into which
people are
folded like
handkerchiefs,
a housing development
w/ large closets,
small windows,
and a high fence.
what holds it
all together
is a mystery--
nuclear weapons,
well-armed police,
the central in-
telligence agency,
3-car garages,
college educations,
network news,
alcohol, caffeine,
nicotine, or maybe
just this piece
of string.
5/26/2001
seattle