utilities payment

[crazy a]

It is late afternoon in mid-January. The sky is mostly cloudy and a cool breeze moves in and out. A church up the street has its bells ringing to a hymn I'm not familiar with.
The song ends and then there's just the sound of cars on the street in front of me, behind me and further up E. 2nd all the way to the main highway.
I'm sitting on the porch steps to my house, a potted plant sits next to me, brown and dried and long dead but beginning to show some green life. I'm sitting in the light cold waiting for the guy from the utilities dept. to come by. He's gonna try to turn off the power. Again. But I've already got a check filled out and waiting. It's made out for more than what's in the bank, but they won't know that for a day or two.
The amount includes a reconnection fee. I have to pay a reconnection fee even though I haven't been disconnected in the first place. Because the bill wasn't paid by 8:15AM. Because I was on the job pointing a scan gun at 300 pairs of socks and 100 pairs of panties and shirts, coats, pants and clothes on headless mannequins. This is the way life works.
And still I sit in the cool, the white winter sun breaking through clouds, waiting for the man while the cars drive up the street and the dogs lie in silence.

[This message has been edited by crazy a (edited February 05, 2001).]

[JaceSan]

I like the images conjured up by the plant coming back to life, the silent dogs and the headless mannequins. All quiet things that you've somehow brought to life.