The kid was littering
\none of a half-dozen
\nwalking along at the tail end
\nhe flipped a cardboard crown
\nup onto a branch overhanging
\nthe sidewalk \u2014 Just happens
\nthe property owner is pulling up
\nin his car and sees this<\/p>\n
Tired of picking up litter
\ndropped, blown in, and dog poop
\nhe opens his car door
\nbellows at the kid<\/p>\n
Pick that up!<\/p>\n
Well, the kid, a bit embarrassed
\ngoes back alertly and does that
\nand well:
\none of the kids isn’t quite a kid
\nshe yells at the guy as he backs into
\nhis driveway<\/p>\n
That’s no fuckin’ way to talk to a kid
\nyou should give a better fuckin’ example
\nhow old are you<\/p>\n
So the guy sez
\nwhat are you?
\nand she sez<\/p>\n
I’m twenty and
\nI’m looking after him
\nand the guy sez<\/p>\n
So you should have
\nstopped him
\nand she sez
\nI didn’t fuckin’ see him
\nyou should give
\na better fuckin’ example
\nand he sez<\/p>\n
That’s your job
\nand she sez<\/p>\n
If it was fuckin’ up to me
\nI’d have fuckin’ left it
\nHe continues
\nparking his car
\nwhile she continues yelling
\nbut he can’t hear.<\/p>\n
What anger drove her
\nto confront a guy
\ntrying to control litter?<\/p>\n
She was classy looking
\nwearing shades and
\ngood-looking well-fitting
\njeans and such<\/p>\n
Whose side am I on?
\nmainly on the guy’s
\nI can see his frustration
\nalthough it was more
\na prank than carelessness
\nthe kid really didn’t fit
\nthe profile of criminality in
\na discarded cigarette pack
\na trampled hot drink cup
\na smashed beer bottle
\ngrafitti used paper products
\nplastic wrap styrofoam
\nold newspapers used pop cans
\nanimal parts tampons rubbers
\nthermometers computer parts
\nirradiated meat tenderized
\nvegetables soy substitutes
\ntaxi tires used snot ashes
\nspare body fat cancelled stamps
\nand chrome hood ornaments<\/p>\n
So what got her started<\/p>\n
Maybe it was
\nthe moment her context
\nthat had nothing to do with
\nthe tree littering
\nmale commands confrontation
\nmaybe it had more to do with
\nthe kids she was with
\nlooking after brooding
\nher classy exterior
\nand the sad little insecurities
\nlurking inside or just
\na perpetual conviction
\nthat everything was
\nsomebody else’s fault
\nBut for a second or two
\nit may not have been logical or
\npoetic or victorious
\nbut she was participating
\nyes she was that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The kid was littering one of a half-dozen walking along at the tail end he flipped a cardboard crown up onto a branch overhanging the sidewalk \u2014 Just happens the property owner is pulling up in his car and sees … Continue reading