American Smile
One eye is open
one eye is closed
do not trust either eye.
*
America’s smile temporary
permanent
under construction
a curtain behind which
*
America displays
its old roses
the ones that retain the whiff of the ideal
but they cannot be cut or displayed
the unshaven whiskers of America’s past
will prick your skin
if you get too close.
Thus the fence.
Thus the many, many fences.