Garbageperson
she’s cold
and the work
is hard
clinging between
winter stops
to the frozen
squealing truck
jumping on and off
hauling curbside garbage
bundled junk
into a hydraulic maw
not falling on the ice
success is her union job
her hourly pay is good
her hair tied back
under the hoodie
perfumed with
diesel fumes
plastic straws
soiled tissues
stick to the bottoms
of emptied bins
a forgotten
candy wrapper
blows away
with an
indifferent
city wind