Hiram Larew’s most recent poem to appear here was “Time Zones” (November 2017)

Hear Hiram Larew read this poem here:

Trash Truck
By Hiram Larew

The diesel struggles up the hill
Before breakfast
With two men holding on like ears
Both in thick orange coveralls

Out the window
Both suet feeders spin when the flickers land
Some with snow on their beaks
And not even trash lids being tossed off scares them
But a few dart away

Just over to the right
Last season’s pumpkins are flat pads
Almost covered with leaves
And stems gone

No one is out yet
But during the day
Everyone will come get their empty cans
And pick up the litter that’s left behind

The sky is real low
But there’s an opening starting
Behind the treeline that may clear later

When a neighbor’s dog
The brown spotted one
Barks at the downshift
Nothing responds back

Tomorrow is Saturday
By then the road will probably be dry.