Signifying Sign

[dukealien]

Signifying Sign


Here’s this sign, a misplaced classic:
yellow with black silhouette
declaiming “SLOW – CHILDREN AT PLAY”
its poster kid just ain’t today:

a knit cap, yes, but hoodless shirt
and belt no lower than his waist
not prison-length around the butt
explaining why his shorts expire
well up above the knee instead
of flapping well below and then
his socks are almost knee-length rather
than deep down inside his shoes
depicted minuscule, not huge.

Sign’s out in “the county,” mind you,
but not bullet-riddled as its
subject would be were it posted
deep downtown where hoodied kiddies
are not playing and to slow down
would be fatally unwise.