rocker
raze
the
fedex driver
was
gone
before
i
could
see
his
face
.
he
left
something
on
my
doorstep. fifty pounds
of
love
packed
into
a
cardboard
box
.
i
dragged
it
inside
the
house
,
half
-awake
and
as
close
to
naked
as
i
could
make
myself
without
offending
the
delicate
sensibilities
of
anyone
unlucky
enough
to
catch
sight
of
me
.
the
packing
slip
said
"convey".
i
try
to
do
that
every
day
. socket
head
cap
screws
and
flat
washers secured
arm
rests
to
seat bases
and
bonded bottoms
with
backrests.
i
counted
each
turn
of
the
hex
key
.
a
square
of
tempered
glass
slid
into
a
woven
frame
that
needed
steel
legs
and
a
support
brace
to
help
it
stand
.
red
and
white
striped
pillows
hissed
and
swelled
after
i
cut
them
loose
from
their
airtight
plastic
tombs.
at
the
end
of
it
all
,
i
had
a
table
and
two
wicker
rocking
chairs
.
we
sat
and
swayed
and
watched
the
smallest
things
that
live
on
our
street
come
to
life
.
i
saw
one
of
hoppy's_children
.
we
admired
each
other
until
a
passing
car
startled
her
.
a
grey
-haired
man
who
lives
on
the
other
side
of
the
dark
paved
path
that
separates
us
stood
beside
his
daughter's minivan. "
we're
rockers
now
,"
my
dad
said
.
the
man
tilted
his
head
back
,
smiled
,
and
said
, "
as
it
always
should
have
been
."
he
guided
his
tired
body
onto
the
passenger
seat
and
closed
the
door
.
we
watched
him
disappear.
i
studied
new
shoots poking
out
of
wet
bark
and
felt
you
holding
me
through
the
strong
arms
of
the
gift
you
gave
me
,
a
little
less
than
fifty
miles
away
,
and
near
enough
to
touch
.
220607
what's it to you?
who
go
blather
from
