he was a tall slim black kid
late twenties maybe younger
wore round wire rim glasses
made him appear smarter than
his conversation revealed
everybody called him hubcap
he worked at the lumberyard
same as his grandfather
never dated never married
never left town
everybody called him hubcap
he stayed at his grandfather’s place
by the river on marblehead road
a four room farmhouse with a cellar
an outhouse and a barn
everybody called him hubcap
nobody knew how many he had
nobody knew when he started
rumor was his grandfather collected them, too
they covered the barn inside and out
hung on all the fence posts along the property line
everybody called him hubcap
