Simulate a cold November evening in New York City
imagine rolling clouds of icy fog
chilling exposed skin
and long legs dressed in nylon stockings
listen to ship’s horns in the harbor
they’re echoing off of art deco fenestrations
feel the buffeting from soft vibrations
of deep-running subway cars
and the honking of taxi cabs
except its not the subway
or a taxi horn
but the rusty innards of a refrigeration unit
struggling to keep cool the sixty foot length
of a Wal-Mart delivery truck
idling in Spring sunshine.
Your plastic-wrapped body glimmers in the sun
as you’re wheeled out on a gurney
and placed gingerly
on black rubber mats.
The workers cough into their elbow crooks
as the latch slams shut
and the lock clicks
you think you are still alive
but its the flickering fluorescent light
that makes your shadow seem to dance.