Cracks in the pavement,
potholes pebbled with cold mix:
ice-hardened tires thump and jar.

Grip the wheel tightly;
hubcaps litter the street.
This is the season of lost pieces.

Thread carefully through the debris,
the frozen plastic
and the scraps of metal.

Streets fall apart,
paint flakes from the fenders,
axles bounce and bend,

and all we can do
is watch the rear view mirror
straining for a glimpse of summer

or wait for signs of hope—Men Working—
when suddenly the streets
flower with orange barrels in the spring.