who wakes at 2 A.M. 
and, rubbing sleep from his eyes, 
drives the tow truck with his other hand. 
He parks at the end of a dark street 
like a thief in the night, 
affixes straps to tow someone’s minivan. 
He pulls away, job to complete. 
Nothing personal. He’s got his own kids, 
burrowed in their beds, his own bills to pay. 
This is just another job, just another day. 
“Ain’t my fault these folks got behind,” 
he mutters to the accusing moon in the sky. 

Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of Tigers, Mice & Strawberries: Poems (Kelsay Books). He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with his family of humans and their dog, Ramona, named after his children’s favorite literary hero.