The Joneses

forty eight.

Then I was lost on land beside a different water.

Unfamiliar granite beneath my foot,

Steps echoing up and up

From one Emerald tower to the next

Until how much the same they all looked--

And I was lost.

And I thought if what I had was what I wanted.

And I thought on all the green this side of the fence

How little grass there is in the city.

In the world if I'm being honest, there's very little grass anymore

And such lovely gardens.

But the gardens are all silicone 

If I'm being honest.

And the chemicals that climb out of beakers, 

March in hoards 

Collide with the softness of our skin,

Smell our nakedness,

These are more green then the ground anymore.

If I'm being honest.

And I thought on how the sand felt rough and warm and

A tremendous adversary when I was young and I ran

From it into the sea.

The first time I came back home after being away,

How salty the air hit me

How clean.

There is a crack spreading from the top of this country to the edge

Drums shake it open

Our trembling all at once 

Shake it open.

And it circles round the outside of this country

And it weaves around the outside of these towns,

And we wedge our picket fences down the craters

And how alive the neighbors lawn looks when we're through!