Cornered

I knew Herb's crafty eyes
were on the vacant seat
of the county Board of Supervisors
when he came and started to
talk to our group at Rosewood

trying his best to be so erudite
and not fooling anyone
except the tenant in number 17
whose eyes never left Herb
when he cleared his throat
and announced

"Ladies and gentlemen
we have almost reached the end
of two millennia
and we can expect changes of
enormous consequence"

The tenant from number 17
raised a bony hand
and asked earnestly
"What kind of changes will there be?
Do you think we will get lower
rent and better treatment?"

He was so innocent in his question
that Herb was thrown for a loss
couldn't reconnect with the high flying
words of his election pitch
they just floated away from him

He looked at the refreshment table
and said with relief
"Let's knock off and have some of
the goodies over there"

Notes

McDaniel, Wilma. (2001) Borrowed Coats. Hanging Loose Press, Brooklyn, New York.
Courtesy University of California, Merced Library. Copyright owned by the Regents of the University of California.