Oklahoma Is Poem

In Oklahoma and everywhere, despair
only makes life seem more unyielding.
A better tactic is to signify that life
is what it is: If you practice law, fly
a pirate-flag atop your office-building.
If you run a tattoo parlor, arrange for
your phone number to be 435-OUCH.
If you’ve owned a used-book store for
twenty years and are going out of
business, hire a temporary laborer,
and when he announces he’s fixin’
to get sick, tell him, “Use the bathroom.”
When sounds of his retching drive
browsers out, say, “Thanks for coming
in, ” and resume the final inventory.
Wait for the man to return from his
undeniable nausea. Tell him
to watch things. Run your errands.
Most of your life has gone away. Some
of it remains. That is the God’s-honest
truth. Oklahoma is.