SPIN...AND SPIN...AND SPIN

At 8:00 they'll turn off the lights,
the fridge will go hot,
the air-conditioned rooms,
knocked off by blankets,
nurtured by fans -
gone.

The men in the trucks
will come -
all out of red tags.
They've given us fair warning.
Today is the day
and I've nothing to do
but sit out back,
watch the meter spin,
wait for it to stop -
hope, somehow
the bill
will get paid.

Michelle McDannold is the brains behind Rural Messengers Press and co-editor of Side of Grits magazine.