{country}western anti-ode, illinois usa

they closed the maytag plant & built a prison

{out in western illinois}

went from making freezers
out in farmland

to sitting
staring
unemployed

uniforms didn’t change, save
maytag man toolbelt
hold
a stick
& a gun

all shareholders are bastards
all prison guards and then some

they closed the maytag plant & built a prison

{out in western illinois}

uncle john lay long buried
family farm willed to his bride
savin’
he never
married
most deathbed contrition
don’t do
jackshit
for the livin’

all swedes are sons of someone
not all bastards get forgiven

ma says no corn like illinois corn
as we wander thru the weeds
how high it supposed to grow
when they
keep cuttin’
ya
at the knees?

all towns become ghost towns
once you suck out all the joy

they closed the maytag plant & built a prison

{out in western illinois}

Zachary Smith

Zachary Smith is a poet and filmmaker from Cleveland, currently living in Boston.

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