Six Seeds – Wallace Barker

July 7, 2021

along the banks of the murky river
we watched a lunatic pitbull knockover
a trashcan spilling bottles and cans
a surly couple cleaned the mess

we walked through the statuary and discussed AI poetry
we considered deep meaning and the connections
that exist faintly at the periphery of understanding
whether an intelligent machine can discern that nexus

white limestone dust powdered my blanket
we removed sticker burrs together and
you taught me to fold it “envelope style”
you think a planned economy might be good

in the graveyard we search for minor 
historical figures among the mausoleums
so bright and hot with nowhere to sit
what is the meaning after all of the mural

painted on the side of an oldtimey drug store
it depicts a boxer standing atop a defeated alien
you told me its message was unwelcoming
but of course we had not understood that

and so this city needs someone like you
you must stay with us at least
six months