Tom's Fence
by Steve Baliko

most of the time you can’t mend
all at once, no matter how bad
you need to. solutions come in
seasons...the wind and the rain
rubbing the rattling gate,
the sun and the snow
lapping the flat slats,
paint picked at year after year...
rediscovery of genuine
meandering grains.
still you can’t hail
hurricanes or summon
blizzards, no matter
how bad
you want to.
you would think white wash
would come off easier
than this...funny how
that too is another
one of the lies.