The smell of the road crew is thick in the hall

The smell of the road crew is thick in the hall,

that heavy, black rot of a summer repair.

It’s the kind of scent that can flatten a wall

and hang like a wet, wool rug in the air.

I walked on the driveway an hour ago,

feeling the sludge pull at the bottom of my shoe.

The heat from the ground was a steady, dull glow

that made the whole afternoon feel untrue.

There’s a pebble stuck deep in the rubber tread,

coated in a sticky and permanent stain.

Some things get buried and some things get spread

just to keep out the coming of the rain.