when they built Landover mall

there

was always someone

stepping

on a nail,

or falling through a ceiling,

or off

a ladder

on the construction site.

it was nothing

to slam a hammer

into your hand,

or cut

yourself on a power saw.

there were

men with bandages

on them,

missing eyes,

and fingers,

limping.

their whiskey breath

making you

wince

when they told you to

carry a load

of bricks to the other side

of the house.

the smell of diesel filled

the air.

it was a summer job,

good pay

for hard labor.

but you retired from it

after only three days

in the boiling sun,

and dried mud.