Things are orderly here
in the neighborhood-
every rock, every plant
and even the way cars are parked.
Garbage is wheeled to the curb
in black dumpsters on Tuesday
and recycled paper, bottles and plastic
are wheeled to the curb in bright,
purple dumpsters on Friday.
The city reads the water meter
the third Thursday of the month
and precisely six days later
a bill arrives in a green envelope,
remittance required in fourteen days.
Exactly 8:30 pm nightly,
the city streetlight turns on
and stays on for ten hours,
when without fanfare, it turns off.
A few houses down there is a
cell phone tower disguised as a palm tree
and nearby, a fake boulder hides the neighborhood
telephone, internet and HD television utility box.
Stone beige is the preferred color
here in the neighborhood,
where we work for a car
and a thirty-year mortgage.
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