B ~ A stalwart, a veteran, an unsung hero

Beneath a low ceiling of peach lights
that repeat and repeat like slogans
Peter Marvin balls his fist
bends his back
with a grin like an unused staple
a piston jerk of the arm
to urge us on
"Good, good. Carry on!"
with tight, round ballbearing eyes
that zing with energy
and back to the paper pillars
that never seem to pitch
the corners of his mouth like a tent
or weigh him down at all