Poems by Stephen Wing
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Landscaper’s Assistant Looks Down
by Stephen Wing
From Canary Summer 2022
Wing, as he is known in his several overlapping communities, lives on the subcontinental divide near the watershed of Peavine Creek, once the territory of the Muscogee. His back-fence neighbor is the Lake Claire Community Land Trust, a neighborhood greenspace with a view of the downtown Atlanta skyline. He currently serves on its board.
All the modestly expensive,
lavishly landscaped
artificial gardens
of this overweight white man’s back yard,
all the concrete and clipped grass,
beds of perennials around the long blue
pool-cover, holly trees
along the low brick wall, all of it—
including my six bucks an hour—
all of it is worth
less than the four severed fingers
of a small, wet
brilliantly patterned toad
panting in the pinestraw, still in shock
from my too close,
too quick
shovel-thrust
© Stephen Wing