At each end of the block are posted signs.
The city workers wave the cars away
while sewer experts drill through asphalt: lines
investigating how the waters play
that pop the uphill disks for overflow,
precipitating toilet paper curds.
Descending house by house they domino,
as tissues issue littering the curbs.

From 7:10 this morning until 4
o’clock tomorrow afternoon, they mean
to fix a chronic drainage problem, sure
in spite of history that they can clean
what’s clogging, lumping, clumping every week
the toilets flushing uphill from the creek.