Across the alley
the old pink furniture
men tread slowly
through asphalt
meadows of off-
white washing
machines old refriger-
ators broken automatic
dish washers
tending just
a little listless-
ly to any wounded
aluminum buffing
whitepainted
enamel still glistening
with April rain carting
the pretty winners
off to gruff-
motored trucks
on thin
red dollies
The eldest
among them
wear their saggy
denim best
glad to be vested
in pliable nylon
today and each
clad in hope-
lessly camouflaged
baseball caps—
which actually
distinguish their pre-
rogative astonish-
ingly well
against the alabaster
stacks of
zinc-
coated sheetsteel
