DRINK UP

This afternoon a person might call a few
friends and say none of these sprinklers
are needed, these trees could go up in flames
quite quickly, this is a drought and we all know it,
the crickets are eating their own weight every day.

Could have seen you reach in your pocket with
one hand, unfold the blade with two hands and
with one hand shake the knife as though it were
a dowsing stick. But there are few patches of cold
air between now and there. For now

I have shut off the swamp cooler, I have
thrown up in the sink , and I have scratched
each deerfly bite. At most I will be hot,
hungry and daubing my welts with tissue for
the fifteen more days I cannot speak with you.

At least I will be distracted. There is a Mexican
girl sobbing loudly on the curb. Her lover
holds his nose over the wet lawn, the blood
leaking between his fingers has stained his
undershirt, they are nearly at arms length.