novembre ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- outside tonight under the soaked oak tree that courts my window a woman locked her baby inside her blue honda civic. i leaned against the screen and saw little bootied feet behind a rain-filled window. she circled around the car, trying and re-trying each door handle until the fire truck arrived. it was the biggest fire truck i've ever seen. the axe man caught my eye as a less-zealous copatriot pried open the driver's side door with what looked like a behemoth nail file.
he tilted the axe up towards me in greeting as the civic swung open. the baby was fine but the fire truck sat in the middle of my tiny street for fifteen minutes more: lights flashing, diesel engine hacking, taking up all the sound and leaving none for the steady downpour. 12:32 am - 12.14.02 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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