Requiem for a Suburb

Garage door opener on the floor 

Of a Honda Odyssey

Dropped between the drive-thru and the tire crew 

At the Costco down the street. 

Comcast TV tunnel vision 

Paints the world in monochrome rainbows 

Like a kid who learns about diversity 

From watching American Idol.

Two-story stories of carpet consolations 

After a long day of Papa John’s pipe dreams,

Enduring 8 hours of success-signaling 

For the sake of a large pepperoni. 

Surreptitious cigarettes and reruns of The Rockettes 

To conjure Christmas cheer three months early 

Amidst Mike-and-Ike’s and Mike’s Hard Lemonade 

Plus the occasional Jesus reversion. 

Lawns mowed then yawns owed to refrigerator calendars 

Tallying fatigue in #2 pencils 

Frequently borrowed by pubescent procrastinators 

Calculating fractions then YouTube reaction videos. 

Resentment blurred by catastrophic contentment,

The anxiety of sustained serenity 

Brewing beneath dinner table fights 

And enslavingly free nights. 

-Sam Hendrian