SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT THE LAUNDROMAT
sitting at the neighborhood laundry
sipping on a diet coke
watching the world tumble
around the dryer
news from Iraq not good
the economy not good
as I watch a young girl in
yellow sweater and tight blue jeans
pass by on her way to the washer
not aware of the old man bent over the
change machine eying the middle-aged
woman buying a box of soap powderit’s like watching a soap opera
on television
only no commercials.five more minutes left
on the timer sputtering in fatigue
five more minutes and it’s back
in the laundry bag
climb under the blankets
and dream that girl in yellow
is mine.
—A. D. Winans, San Francisco, CA