Thru the Luck of Lead

  (The elemental metal)

  We are the fourth graders

  With Mr Hillburn

 Who made us hold encyclopedias on outstretched arms

"HOLD THEM!"

  Or crushed our curved fist fingers until

Our knees gave out

  But just a joke

"You gonna behave?"

"Yes, sir."

    We are the luck of the lead

   In almond trees

   And grass fields

 With fried egg sandwiches

Made by my mom at lunch time

 On wheat toast with butter

  The luck of the lead

     The metal element

 In the low grade coal mines

   In the barren foothills 

    Near Carnegie's pottery

    Servicing the architectural reliefs of 

The greater towns and buildings

  The lead of the luck

With modern druids in Levi's

Made by Americans

 (No Chinese!)

A rusty 30 aught 6

  On the trucks back window rack

A blue truck

With step side fenders

Get in

   Or the luck of the lead

Dog on a flat bed truck 

Legs splayed out for maximum stability

No dummy that dog but afraid

  Of falling off at 60 miles per hour 

On a country road

The luck of the lead

 Scientists with hp500 calculators

Sine/Cosine

     And the tracts enumerated by

  Commercial real estate developers with

Foreign names

  A nice new Buick

In Brown please

The luck of the lead

  With guinea pigs

And rabbits that will scratch the shit

Out of your arms

Nice place

Oh they moved to Germany

   Nice library

     And an old Volkswagen on Cornell avenue

  We are the almond ghosts

    We are the luck of the lead almonds

  In the dry chaparral 

  Sun burnt white dry heat

    With rodeo gals in pegged pants

Hats and boots

  Horses and saddles

 And cars 

Lots of cars