I.
Put your foot in that
large pothole there
“RUSH HOUR GOT OFF TO A SNARLED START DOWN
-TOWN TODAY WHEN A STREETCAR ON A TEST
RUN FOUND ITSELF BLOCKED BY A PARKED SUV.
the Foothills are fine
if you want to hole up
I agree that the city is changing
but how
THE STREETCAR WAS FORCED TO A STOP IN THE
LEFT-HAND LANE OF EAST CONGRESS STREET AT NORTH
6TH AVENUE, WHICH CAUSED TRAFFIC TO MERGE
RIGHT INTO THE ONE REMAINING LANE.”
I just never got
used to the summers.
II.
The wall makes a shadow
that dusks
the stick-
tree’s base:
a measure
“SEE YOU IN THE FALL
WELCOME BACK, DESERT RATS”
as Summer
is the sound of people
leaving.
III.
“THE CRATER-LIKE HOLE IN WESTERN TUCSON
IS IN FACT A BLACK STONE QUARRY
Then the lovely
price of gas:
so complete
in our chance comfort
A VOLCANIC
VESICULAR BASALT, CALLED MALAPAI
that it’s hard when –
Brittney, for instance,
the long-haired
bartender with cinnamon
manners – has an honest
bone to pick,
DATING
BACK TO THE END OF THE LATE 1890’S
WHICH OPERATED INTO 1930.”
to keep the bone,
baked white
in the sun, from becoming public
dispute along the avenue.
IV.
Nothing quaint
in the persistent lumens. I arrive:
“JUNE 11, 1990 – JUDITH LEFEVRE AND STEVEN LOUIE
PROUD TO INTRODUCE SON OF HEALTHY WEIGHT AND
PRODIGIOUS UMBILICAL LENGTH
TO WORLD”
I am so tired of being seen
by the bright dirt patch
in our back yard, I’ve watered
it to keep a cloud
of dust from rising.
V.
“DETECTIVES ARE INVESTIGATING THE
STABBING OF A 17-YEAR-OLD
One city being
like the next, and
AT
AN APARTMENT COMPLEX IN THE FOOTHILLS
EARLY THURSDAY MORNING, AUTHORITIES SAID”
the next being a city
that remains
dry at the base of
a black hill
Beal, Tom. (2010, February 8). Tucson Oddity: What’s with the crater on edge of ‘A’ Mountain?
http://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-oddity-what-s-with-crater-on-edge-of-a/article_d306b1d1-1519-510d-b926-4b3eb3e703e3.html
Schmift, Caitlin. (2016, January 7). Tucson police investigating stabbing on north side. Tucson.com.
http://tucson.com/news/blogs/police-beat/tucson-police-investigating-stabbing-on-north-side/article_7e3c98d2-b55b-11e5-9cbb-736bc38f7ed4.html
Staff. (2014, March 4). Blocked streetcar causes traffic jam downtown.
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/24757264/poor-parking-stops-street-car