Suitcase Suzy (original poem)

Suitcase Suzy played the fiddle for people
whenever free beer made an appearance

She had been hounding me for weeks
to come by and play music with her
until I gave in

She lived with her mother
in a house infested with flies
overrun by cats
terrorized by puppies

Everything they ever owned
sat on the front lawn because
as Suzy said
you never know when the weather
will be right
for a garage sale
but the weather never changed
and it never rained

At the house swatting flies
playing the songs of paradise
Suitcase Suzy’s mother asked
if I would take a puppy
or find a home for one
or all
before animal control
spayed them

It’s better they should die than be spayed
she said
It’s horrible what they do

I agreed and killed
a mosquito gnawing
at my elbow

The mother said she was computerized
and I thought the old woman
had a hearing aid or a ticker
in her chest
She was mostly blind
but had a better sense of space
than most

I had seen her around town
pushing a cart with colored
packaging material from presents
that would never be
poking up around a second-hand sunhat
The tin foil of the day
The old lady had style
even if it was
never
in
style

When I tried to shake her hand
she pulled it away and said
she was afraid to let people touch her
repeating she was computerized

You think about that she said
All right I said
and I did
with one eye
always on the old lady

Suitcase Suzy started to complain
about her mother’s government conspiracies
questioning who was really in charge
But the old woman didn’t bother me
I’ve seen my share of people
who no longer trusted
the government

Suitcase Suzy lured me
out of the house
before the mother computerized me
Come back
I heard the old woman call
and I didn’t know
if she meant then
or later

Outside Suzy apologized
and I waved her off with a hand
to let her know there was nothing
to be ashamed of
Sometimes I wonder
if my hard drive
has any bugs

It wasn’t until later I found out
the old woman and her husband
had been university professors
in the fifties
Blacklisted by McCarthy
careers ruined
every street light became a camera
every move watched
Then her husband died

That’s when she went
underground
out of mind
became programmable

receive
store
transmit

So much for the land of the free