by Brian Fanelli

Frankie standing on the corner of Adams and Spruce,
his black velcro shoes worn at the sole,
his flannel shirt tucked into blue jeans,
washer worn with patches of grease
staining the knees after a dozen spin cycles.
Frankie bemoans the cruelty of this last winter,
how an artic blast stripped shingles from his roof.
But ain’t nothing compared to the Blizzard of 93, he says,
raising his hand to his waist to indicate the accumulation.
Frankie pulls out a dog-eared picture of his grandparents,
his grandfathers who died of black lung,
his grandmothers who worked in the silk mills,
had scars on the tips of their fingers.
Frankie high-fives the John Mitchell statue
each time he strolls through Courthouse Square, says,
Daddy was a union man all his life.
Frankie, keeper of history, returns to the corner
of Adams and Spruce, outside dusty storefronts,
For Rent signs, and the neon glow of aging bars.

Brian Fanelli’s most recent book is “Waiting for the Dead to Speak” (NYQ Books), winner of the Devil’s Kitchen Poetry Prize. He is also the author of All That Remains (Unbound Content) and co-editor of the anthology “Down the Dog Hole: 11 Poets on Northeast Pennsylvania” (Nightshade Press). His writing has been published in the Los Angeles Times, World Literature Today, Paterson Literary Review, Blue Collar Review, Main Street Rag, and elsewhere. He has an M.F.A. from Wilkes University and a Ph.D. from Binghamton University.