FEDORA-LIKE HATS

i wish i could wear a hat
everyday on my way to work
not a baseball cap or a bowler
one of those fedora-like ones
that i don’t think are actually fedoras

that way i could tip the brim ever so
slightly in respect for a lady
if one would pass by

i would be protected from
the rain and dust from
the sun and bird droppings

i would never wear it indoors
or in a church and i would
toss it in the air each time the
hometeam was vitorious

on a date i would open doors
pay for dinner and tickets
to the picturehouse and
if it rained i would place
the hat on her head

it would be like the days
when things were right
when people were polite
to their neighbors and
hard work meant something

when the air was clean and
music was pretty
when crime was scarce and
jobs were many

i wish i could go there
when the world was good and
sins were committed behind closed doors
when men wore fedora-like hats