It is hard not to look down from these heights
on the unfeeling flatlands
of southeast Hagerstown, its minor-league

 Like everything else they are
like nothing else—

intricate and simple:

                If you were fired and were free to go
                  From Appalachia to
                  The Apennines, would you

A goateed sage 
chews salvia against toothache 
salivates as the new kitchen maid frosts a cake