Untitled

US economic growth falls to 14-year low. I rub my mother’s legs as she lies in the hospital bed. General Motors cuts 67,000 jobs. I lose my mind when the nurses begin to rush about her body in a sudden silent frenzy. Recession slows but doesn’t stop local golf industry. The dawn drizzles into being like a broken egg yoke running. AIG Inc reported the largest quarterly loss in US corporate history. I can barely see the rain against the background of wet, grey buildings. Nokia cuts 1,700 jobs in sinking phone market. I see a white shoulder in a neighbor’s window, pale in the cloudy morning light. US jobless seen nearing 10 percent. I watch a woman drag her boy behind her like a ground bound kite. Royal Bank of Scotland posted the biggest loss in UK corporate history. I saw a girl draw flowers like atom bomb blasts in her notebook. 45 percent of World’s wealth destroyed. The fruit man’s son is dead. US household wealth falls $11.2 trillion in 2008. I held his hand and looked into his eyes as we cried. US consumer confidence plunges to all time low. Walking down my street, I am protected from the rain by trees that leave dry concrete silhouettes. Slump moves from Wall Street to Main Street. An old red-haired man licks his lips bloated, scarlet and sore. Irish recession worst than rest of the world. I ride the train sitting across from a lonely Diet Coke. US output plummets, manufacturing at record low. Amidst sheaths of newspaper an Asian woman loses her balance in the wind of an oncoming train. Chinese output growth slumps to record low. My mother asked me, “Am I going to die?” Hewlett Packard had 24,600 layoffs. “Someday,” I say. California hemorrhages jobs, but all states hurting. My father is a beautiful old man. Recession hits city’s waterfront. I will hold his hand when he dies and let him be.