Summer Employment Poem by Patrick O'Reilly

The goddamned heat
Says Charlie creeping across the room to bang his fist on the cage of the fan
That creaks too slowly
Needs oil?
The paint slowly bubbles and cracks on the wall
This goddamned heat
I've been waiting too patiently
I've been watching the phone like a hungry stray
But I reckon there was someone better to pay
You win some,
You lose more.
I've lost my smokes, but I'd like one now
A decent smoke, a glass of the cold, hard stuff, a check in the mailbox
This godamned heat
The sweat rolls down my face,
It rolls down my back, and my arms, and the backs of my legs and mixes with the dust blowing through the screen door so that I'm caked in mud
And the phone won't ring
I need the phone to ring
This goddamned heat