Jackass Flats
is just that sort of town.
Airless summers,
broke down cotton buggies,
a faded Texaco sign
outside a
cinder block building.
Two work bays and a
service counter with a
rack of slumped candy bars and a
stack of Skoal tins
all but one of them wintergreen.
You can get gas in Jackass Flats
if you have cash and luck.
Luck is always standing on the side of the road
with its thumb out
looking for a bumper to ride
to some other town with a
Conoco station and
unflavored Skoal in the mechanic's back pocket.
First published in PanoplyZine, 2017.
Published on The Laundry Line, September 9, 2025.
