On Two Elm Streets
Robert Michael O'Hearn
What if you lived in a small town
with two streets named Elm Street
and a phallic fire hydrant donned
every single corner&every single
dog owner walked two smiley Pekingese
Just before summer you went away
then spring came back twice, twice
wearing its usual dubious grin
What if you lived in a quaint neighborhood
where two quarrelsome judges had to be
restrained by twin pillars of law and order
and some toothsome Officer Friendly
flashed a flashlight on a found pile
of Fois Gras growing behind the garage
And the homeless drove two family cars
while those in single room apartments
had to walk backwards on the way to work
What if you lived in a small town
where all seamstresses were into daydreaming
but made sure hemlines were double stitched
and you never waivered in your belief
that what small town newpapers wrote was true
And war's hell, but soup's better tasting
sipped out of a shoe and the fork stuck
in the road actually seperates two Elms.
