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Friday, January 04, 2008

PLATE

by Dale Goodson


the kitchen was quiet
at peace

then a plate lost its place
fell against a bowl in the dish rack
the sudden bang
was deafening
frightened me
I broke out in a cold sweat

gravity
can’t do nuthin’ about it
but still-

I took a deep breath
righted the plate
leaned on the counter

THEN THIS NOISE:

one hundred million spent in Iowa
one hundred million
by men and women running for office

made me want to jump off a tower

stop, I thought
stop
but they can’t
won’t

in Iowa
or anywhere else

the plate fell again
had to
it’s a universal law

more harsh racket

but at five dollars per
a feeble challenge


Dale Goodson is a writer from Seattle currently living in New York City and working as a homeless outreach worker in Times Square. He recently created his own website: dalegoodson.com.