For the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana

Rusty York and Wendy Robinson sit in a Coliseum pothole
eating DeBrand chocolate with Chuck Surack and Barbara Bradley Baakgaard

It was a time
When motorists feared
Snow like they possessed
Paper assholes.
It was a time
When our idea
Rolled through brains
Like loose carpet change.
It was a time
When we couldn’t push
Enough oxygen into the room.
It was a time
When we shoved fingers
Into inappropriate places.
It was a time
When we cured
Psychic pain
With everyone’s malignancy.
It was a time
When babies were born
With aluminum brains
And titanium stomachs.
It was a time
When men still carried big
Sticks and talked
Over everything.
It was a time
When gold was silver
And silver was glass.
It was a time
When we only paid
Inattention.
It was a time
When we touched
Dead bodies
And averted eyes.
It was a time
When robots knew most
About love.