Another Small Death

They are ten billion in debt
So they take my solitary black mailbox
And its small red flag
Bringing us a community monolith
A grey hunk of metal with
Numbers, doors, keyholes.
This is another small death for our community,
Along with tall cinder block walls
Separating us and our yards.
The new mailbox keeps the postal carrier away from our homes,
No Mr. McFeely or Cliff Claven waving to us
No speedy delivery or
Curbside service.
Single mailboxes take too long.
Efficiency is demanded
Fewer stops
Of funky mail vehicles with steering wheels
On the wrong side.
This is what progress brings
And more.
Who needs Saturday delivery?
Central mail give us a
Chance to meet,
Which we do,
Forced,
Nodding to each other as we
Collect our small stack.
But we don't look at our neighbors
Retrieving our mail,
Avoiding the politeness of
It's a beautiful day isn't it?
We fetch our mail with
Superficial smiles
And frowns for junk mail from junk metal.

© Poem Fix http://www.poemfix.com 2012
Image: Poem Fix