reading Psalms at Jiffy Lube (June 2021)

poem

Reading Psalms at Jiffy Lube™,
the only one in the waiting room,
sitting in a plastic chair, unmasked, tattered
“We Are Practicing Social Distancing”
flyer on the seats either side of me,
fading remnants of the Panic Era, that I am glad to see
wither away and die, along with
a lot of things from 2020.

Outside, muzzled employees rotate my tires
and inspect my vehicle
in 80 degree weather. Between the hum of machinery
and the hubbub of suburbia, have to lean in
to hear what they’re saying to me. Thankfully,
no one has given a fuck about “six feet apart”
in over a year. We were quick to realize that con,
slower to realize others. But I finish
a few chapters and verses while I wait for my
oil change,
then exchange some banter and money
with the staff, and drive away
in my refurbished Honda, reminded that God
is always in control,
reading Psalms
at Jiffy Lube.