
The garbage truck zoomed past
Leaving behind a trail of dust
Fragments of light waste flew
Out of the truck’s open cage
Landing on the pavement,
Happy to be free again
The street sweeper was startled.
The patch he had just cleaned spotless
Was now messed with fresh litter
He glared at the garbage boy swinging
Joyfully behind the truck
He was met by a scornful grin
And a hand gesture anything but kind
The hand returned to the rails
And both feet swung freely in the air
The truck railed on
And with it the garbage boy and his amusement.
The sweeper leaned on his long broom with gloom
Beleaguered by the folly of one meant to be a comrade
He wished he owned a better gadget
To capture that humiliating moment
As video or photo
When flying trash hit his ego harder than the pavement
Maybe the environmental watchdog would care
But in the meantime,
All he had was more yards to clean.
And a dream
That one day, very soon
The dignity for his noble profession would be restored.