handicap parking

you don't see
the handicap sign,
a large tree
in full bloom
has overgrown
and blocked the
blue imprint
of a wheelchair.
there is nothing
painted on
the street to
indicate no
parking unless,
so you park
and run into
the coffee shop
for a cookie
and a cup and
when you come back
there is a hundred
and seventy-eight
dollar ticket
on your windshield.
there is no
fighting this,
no moral to
the story, no
insight or revelation,
just the wonder
as to how they
came up with that
exact figure to
punish you.