neighborhood watch

of all the houses for sale and sitting empty
this one sold
and the new owners brought with them the cop car
state police black and yellow hornet just waiting to sting
and i watch the whole block lower their eyes and leer through their lashes
we’re gonna keep an eye on that car
and that man in uniform as he’s home from work eating dinner in front of the television
spinning racial profiling
as an officers mandate
cuz theres no war without troops
this
is a solidly working class neighborhood of strollers, pick-ups and a-shirts
the boom boom boom, trumpets and persistent polka rhythm of a moments sanctuary
and cops
they too are working class
thrown a hornet
a sting
a bone of power outnumbered
we’re gonna watch that car
and the man in uniform as he stumbles out of his house bleary eyed
in the early morning
gun on his hip
with children running in the road.