the politics of lumber (poem)
Danny Noonan: I haven’t even told my father about the scholarship I didn’t get. I’m gonna end up working in a lumberyard the rest of my life.
Ty Webb: What’s wrong with lumber? I own two lumberyards.
Danny: I notice you don’t spend too much time there.
Ty: I’m not quite sure where they are. …Danny: Where’d it go?
Ty: Right into the lumberyard.
i.
sun after moon after sun after moon after sun
each watched over trees rising and covering acre after acre
sun and moon have no words of course for “forest”
purchased and surveyed trees rising and covering acre after acre
transformed into a tree farm for lumber and profit
sun after moon after sun after moon after sun
continued as if nothing at all had occurred since time flies
sun and moon have no words of course for “commerce”
ii.
“Deforestation! You are raping the earth!”
“These are our jobs! Lumber is feeding our families!”
iii.
she had a perfectly symmetrical face
& whitened teeth righted by braces
her hair blonde & styled as if a helmet
as she explained the Top Story Tonight:
“A man wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ red ball cap
struck and killed a Mexican-American at Home Depot
earlier this afternoon with a 2×4 in the lumber section.”
Behind her a large orange image of the Home Depot logo appeared
while scrolling beneath her in redband: “Witnesses said the man in the hat
yelled ‘Speak English!’ leading to a fight and Mr. Garcia’s death.”
“Our own Beth Yu spoke with an officer at the scene. Beth.”
“Police Officer Ben White said there is no reason at this time
to suspect this was anything other than an argument, nothing racial.”
“Thank you, Beth. Witnesses also said the deceased was accompanied
by his three children but his remaining immediate family has not yet been notified.
Now, Steve, seems like spring is in the air. How does it look outside?”
