[new jobs for the underworld]

today the sky lies almost flat overland
& standing upright at all puts a weight
on everyone’s shoulders
on my way to the supermarket i open
every window i can find & return
home where the candles keep
burning no matter how often
i extinguish them

on the pavement the leaves turn to mush
then to crisp then to frost & the smell
of something rotten makes throats sore
in passing
squirrels on the trees rub their paws
to keep warm

every morning on the way
to college i walk against the sun
getting weaker & hold up the lighter
clouds with my spine
there’s a few others around
all of them struggling for balance
some of them breaking down 
under it

the sky comes closer each year
to ever fewer of us