America in 5 Lines

America has a fever. Get in line.

America in Five Lines

There are hundreds of cars

at the Philipsburg Y

At lunch and after work

they descend in droves

For food

To stretch a dollar

And make ends meet

Thousands of meals

Free for the taking

Less destitute,

this bread line of SUVs

Need which is

less humiliating

Drive up and go

in your sunglasses

They won’t see that you

need

There are hundreds in line

at the drive up testing center

In Houston’s

Summer heat

They had the sniffles

a headache

a cough, you know,

They need to

Ease their fear.

To see

If they are among the lucky

…It was just a scare…

Silly really

Negative.

Negative is good.

Or among the banished

The quarantined

The lonely ones

The untouchables

Who must try

to survive

Pray

It’s not too bad

The germ

May it pass over

May it have mercy

There is a line of a half a million

Choppers

And dressers

And trikes

And hogs

In staggered rows down highway 90

From Rapid City

And Spearfish

And Deadwood

Gettin’ their motors runnin’

Like some lost

Peter Fonda dream

Star-spangled gas tank

Ride

Or die

Or both

Freedom

From fear

Of the germ

That they share

We laughed