Forty One

At forty one
I finally can see a Phillip Levine poem
Sales routes, cosmoline, and all
Playing out on the pages of the book
Like a great old war movie or
A drive across a dusty road out west somewhere
In a 1971 Lincoln Continental
One old motel after the other
Calling out and
Fading away
It may be the plastic daisy shaped magnifying glass or
It may be
That I am finally able to forgive Detroits
It's 1970s excesses and excuses
At forty one