Photo by Benjamin Disinger vis Unsplash
The hole at the bottom,
end of the road, a fiery kilm.
Chip near the tail,
pilgrimages in tattered UPS boxes.
Every US State in a beige rundown van,
trying to settle
a three-stair bungalow, shag carpet,
decades-old clutter
to
smooth, newly built, modern
and a decorative art pale blue vase.
Making bedsides look like something out of
MOMA.
Dust still travels,
from place to place
scrubbing it down,
no way to wet wipe the past.
It was a joke
over your head,
the made in america stamp at the bottom.
Hidden from view,
sitting on its origins,
stars and stripes,
missing something critical.
Three key events
in the making of the sculpture,
explain the reason for its creation,
why the joke goes over your head.
What makes it critical:
One: Creation.
Muddy brown,
seen on the cuffs
ordinary green uniforms,
and staining the soles
of black issued boots.
Rains create the muddy brown,
rarity in California,
like squirrels in Joshua tree.
Devised from the cracked earth
and biblical rain,
black eyes, little bits of silver,
like bullet casings,
or dog tags.
Two: Ownership
hands clutching it,
Covered by tan dust.
Hard little sculpture
sold in a gift shop,
passed around, and around
in a parking lot.
Squirrels are Sociable,
traveling from a home to a van,
bed to bed,
grease finger prints,
pink marker smudges on the tail.
ceramic squirrels chip when to amicable,
when too many hands reach,
when they were meant for one.
Almost shattering at kitchen tables,
from a lack of care.
Three: Unearthed
a little package,
plastic peanuts and bubble wrap.
Peel back the layers until we found
the earthen object.
Determined to make it north,
a past of Joshuas and cracked earth,
clutter and bungalows,
dollar bills and
prayer beads,
a brokedown van in Tennessee.
A little bit closer.
to home.
