Spring Break '09

The neighbor’s kids have been out on the streets all week
There are cars parked in front of houses with their engines running
well into the evening
While I’m still taking my coffee into the early afternoon
they’re out there with scooters & bikes
performing in some strange game that is all but lost to me
& I think of children at play
& how I’m supposed to be convinced that these are all acts of joy
I’ve seen looks from afar that seemed to me full of sincere terror
but they’re out there before the birds in from the lake start picking at the earth
for worms
& after lawns are mowed, leaves are raked, trash has long been taken in
The music pouring out of open doors & windows
makes them seem like a hazy reminiscence on a digital camcorder
O’ the sadness though
It seems like no one is going to work these days
&the grocery stores are as busy at 2 as they are at 6
The streets feel so full but abandoned
& the children that run this cul-de-sac have no sense of personal property
They’re out in my driveway & running across my lawn
but they’re not hurting anything & anyway
I just rent that lawn & it’s not my problem
& they don’t feel like invaders no matter how Mexican they are
I wish my brother were here to see this
how sometimes they’re as alone as everyone else these days
because everyone we know is presumed dead or living alone
in spaces near & far where we feel we’ve lived & died
& left some ash of ourselves scattered like the aftermath of the 4th of July
I will wish he was here well into the summer
under the hope that I can save him
under the delusion that I am the man for it
I will hope he’s here & gone by November
when the winds are cold
& in thick jackets & caps
we’ll embrace & wish each other the best