Lawn

Each American house
Is a copy in miniature of
Jefferson and Washington’s
Mansion but the front lawn runs
Down not to a river but to an
Asphalt concrete or gravel
Stream and our bateaux
Are made of steel wire
Rubber glass plastic
On wheels each of
The tiny mansions
With porch pillars
Real or by angles
In Greek revival
Architecture
All a few
Feet
Apart all
Flimsy imitations
Of the illusion of a
Southern mansion on
A river but a waste of space
Since only density allows public
Transport to work and suburbs
Lead to road grid-lock delay
With more cars each year
Making things worse not
Better but the solution
Is to regulate three
Story townhomes
With almost no
Front yard
Car park
Beneath
House facing
Back onto a small
Garden opening onto
A shared enclosed meadow
For common use teaching
Us to share space by
Polite interaction
Enforced by the
Meadow board
Elected by the
Meadow
House
Owners
With renters
Away in four-story
Walk-ups since
Elevators do
Not work
Mechanically
Or criminally so
Let those who can
Walk up for cheaper
Rents and each building’s
Regulations enforced by
A board of longterm
Renters who benefit
By tossing out the
Lawbreakers &
Protecting the
Meek and
Mild but
With
Trees
Shrubs
Flowers
Not drug
Pushers and
Gang violence,
Execute the former
Extricate the latter
To re-education
Centers where
They can be
Taught the
Pride of
Manual labor
No matter how
Long it may
Take them
To lawn
To be
Free.