cut grass

cut grass
reminds you of your
summers,
your heavy push
mower, with thick
unsharpened blades,
you could hardly shove
it through
the tangle of
tall grass.
five dollars a yard.
raking too.
the wheels would flatten
out the tall field,
hardly anything
cut.
you'd see the man
in the window
shaking his head.
offering nothing,
not even a glass
of water, as you
gave up on the mower
and used your hand
clippers
to cut what you could.
you could almost
feel the five dollars
in your hand.
even today.