501. KOSTELANZ AT 4

KOSTELANZ AT 4
(Road Crew, 1972)
'I have been leaning on this life for so long even my
cane is bent. All the fructation of time has seasoned
me well. I am, to be sure, bested no longer by anything.'
-
Of course, no one know the meaning of his words
and we merely stared back without engaging.
Off to the side, tree limbs bore apples and peaches,
as they should. It was bestride this orchard his
house climbed - a wide, old white board farm;
left here from 1872, it was exactly stated.
-
Here together, five of us there were.
We'd come to mark the lanes for paving.
Working for the state, road-men, adept at tar and
pavement were we, and his story seemed like all the
others. We'd done this a hundred times or more.
-
The old Pennsylvania countryside, now just
dying to die, was still to be paved. And everywhere
we went, the markings for that we brought and left.
No more mud and ooze, no more cars and trucks
bogged down in mire. We said the same things
everywhere: 'State improvements' or 'Government
mandate.' Didn't matter. No one knew what we
were talking about. And we certainly didn't care.