The gradually surfacing poltergeist made its presence known to me in 1991
xo
when resentment-based talk radio had only begun to pummel the nation’s covenant
when social media whose underpinnings had collapsed and
mass cults were far over the horizon
The blight was unveiled through a quiet dour man behind the counter
in my employer’s lobby
tightly set lips behind a tight gray-gravel beard
his security badge granting him
the agency just to ask for ID please
We would chat as I came in and went out
He had operated heavy construction equipment
Used to have real work until he couldn’t find it any longer
Now hung out behind a counter with his security badge
And as I was exiting late one night from the empty office
somehow our banter landed on policies toward the impoverished
and he mentioned with a sneer
not wanting to disturb people in certain neighborhoods
because the residents there were jumpy enough already
The phrase came down upon me like a hailstorm
The moment passed before I could fashion a reply
But I think the expression on my face
showed my opinion of what he had said
And I think his expression
showed that he was glad he had said it
Andy Oram
November 24, 2024