LEON D. LEONARD JR.
Combined Carelessness

Runaway, runaway
travel far from home
to gutters overflowing
discarded parts;

a one-sided quarter, Raggedy Ann doll
frayed hair, missing an eye, hubcaps
from forgotten boy toys, golf balls
with divots, dirty, un-hittable,
cracked baseball bat bloated
with sewage instead of pride,
syringes empty of high flying
confidence, drifting sand of lost
time, souls of families run through
the shredder to obscure personal
identification, responsibility for someone's blood.

Runaway, runaway
travel far from home
no longer one:
combined carelessness.