Rob Piazza

POETRY

“Transfer Station,” read by Rob Piazza.

Transfer Station

Bethlehem, Connecticut

I’m about to leave for Christmas Break
after many months of thankless work
and weeks of dreary December rain—

The sky has been as colorless as ash
when suddenly the dump is suffused with light—
delicious, delectable rays of amber sun—

Manny, the garbage man, shovels trash
into dumpsters with all the graceful might
of Baryshnikov dancing The Nutcracker Suite,

and José in recycling crushes cans
into barrels mixed with shards of glass—
Their breath evaporates in chilly air—

Is this a part of God’s majestic plan?
Perhaps the world’s ministers will dare
to fight the filth that festers everywhere—

The radio delivers carols to my car
untangling my knot of nagging fears,
“God rest ye merry gentlemen…”

Perhaps the miraculous birth can happen here
amidst scraps of metal and broken chairs—
Maybe (can you believe it?) angels will appear—

Rob Piazza recently completed his MFA in Creative Writing at Fairfield University. He teaches literature and composition at colleges and universities in Waterbury, Connecticut. His poems have appeared in Mystic Blue Review, Halcyon Days, Society of Classical Poets, Haiku Journal, Poetry Quarterly, Founder’s Favourites, The Lyric, and October Hill Magazine. He serves as Poet Laureate of Litchfield.

Next (Daniel Wade) >
< Previous (Claudia M Stanek)

Photo Credit: “Edom Hill waste transfer station” by Raymond Shobe, Flickr.com. (Modified by Veronica McDonald).