The Tribe

I live in a state of sad affairs,
the Governor is photographed
with a high school basketball player
and she isn't even drunk,
the Fish and Wildlife Director

is caught with a gill net
and there's no bribe,
the Highway Patrol has a program
to accept bribes, we know these guys.

At the Bent Fork
the regulars come in early,
the old guys, nine coffees,
two pancakes, three butter-horns,
an orange juice, six scrambled,
hash browns, can we get a refill over here?

A young woman walks in,
she's under more surveillance
than a strip club, she's out of place
as a birdwatcher with a white hat,
and she doesn't look like us.

She has a smile that says
I'm not from here, please be nice,
if she comes back tomorrow
she'll be one of the regulars,
one of the sad affairs.