Suburban Graffiti

There is a paint factory I pass on my way home.

One white wall of it faces the sidewalk

and at night young boys take flashlights and spray paint

and tell the wall everything they know:

 

    LISA S. IS A BITCH

    THIS TOWN IS IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE

    I CAME. I SAW. I LEFT.

 

And once a month the owners paint the wall white

and hope.

 

Sometimes I think I see my name

in the scrawls they leave

of black and blue but no –

it's DOUG or DANNY and I walk on.

 

I pass by the wall today and look for news:

 

Sharon loves Phil this month.

Julie and Nick are still together.

Lisa S. is still a bitch.