Us People

"We're not unemployed?" she asked. "How's it we're not unemployed?"

"We are not unemployed," he said. "Nope we are fully deployed."

"Not making any money."

"Don't matter. There's stuff to do."

He thought,

Unemployed nope we are fully deployed.

"So what are we then?" she asked.

Their vehicle rattled at the red light. Dents, the family workhorse, and its two hundred thousand and some miles. It was Saturday morning. Downtown. Nearing the farmers market for her fresh fruits, vegetables. Hot, hot, already so hot. Steady steamy seedy sweat on his, her upper lips.

She asked again, "So what are we then?"

He said, "Pre-revenue."

"That's what we are? Pre-revenue?"

"Yup."

"Not unemployed," she said. "How're they different?"

"One's looking up. One's looking down."

The red light turned green.

He thought,

One's hope. One's fear.

Sixteen million of us people.

Pre-revenue people?

Unemployed people?

Berryman just then he recalled.

"Unite my various soul"

Coiled, wound inside and out he wondered alone,

Who are you guy?

Who're us people America?

Rattling Dents past the red light turned green.



--tim



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