The person who came to service our furnace
Laughed when I described the gurgling noise
The hot water circulating in the baseboards
Sounds like my stomach when I am hungry
Easy relaxed genuine mirth bubbled up
From someone so evidently happy with their work
Making an honest living making us ready
To leave our house for the entire winter
We are not entirely relaxed about it
Uncertain about the course of the pandemic
On edge as the repression intensifies
Targeting Black Lives Matter protesters
Summer is over and winter is coming
When the living is anything but easy
If you must stay around and be active
Unable to migrate flying south or hibernate
That used to be us contending with the cold
Staying shut inside wearing extra layers
Putting up with innumerable discomforts
Counting the days until our release
Now we have the option to go subtropical
Joining up with the birds wintering over
But being human we are once again waiting it out
Counting the days until the pandemic subsides
The underlying interminable oppression in this society
Felt by people of color like a knee on the neck
Experienced in ways by all poor and working people
Drags on continuing long past its expiration date
And yet people have an irrepressible vitality that endures
A readiness to embrace any cause for celebration
Demonstrative in our affection for loved ones
Delighting in each welcome moment of happiness
