In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
they have three separate oldies stations
which makes complete sense Since the surrounding area is
frozen somewhere in the early 80s
Everyone drives a Cutlass Sierra On any one back road,
count the 100 mom & pop mulch shops
throwing elbows for space with unfinished furniture
stores
That cater to homeowners,
bathing their yards and back sheds
with sickly pale floodlight
Those lamps burn atop garage doors like hex signs
The residents, never content to let
night just do what it’s supposed to
But the sky remains untouched
Sometimes you can’t tell where
it meets the sprawl of trees
I was grateful for that and for the oldies
because the associated goodtime nostalgia
kept me sane through two years
of dollar store dust
professors with inflated self-worth
and the twin tombstone cooling towers
of Three Mile Island
looming large on the horizon
Like graduation in May
Chris Middleman began writing almost ten years ago during a blackout in his hometown of Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Currently living in Boston, his work has appeared in issues of Perigee, The CommonLine Project, and The Orange Room Review.
Chris Middleman began writing almost ten years ago during a blackout in his hometown of Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Currently living in Boston, his work has appeared in issues of Perigee, The CommonLine Project, and The Orange Room Review.
