the tree was full of crab apples
no one told me that those
weren't for eating
too sour
I walked back to the road,
still no sign of the tow truck
my hound dog panting in his sleep
in the shade of the car.
The white wall tires
floated slowly up to the speaker stand
humid air now sitting around us
you spoke evenly saying
-two cheeseburgers, two fries, and two strawberry malts please
wait no, I want a chocolate malt
ok, change one to chocolate
we sat, waited
too hot to talk
I was fine on the ropes course
until we arrived at the bridge
-who would string up
old wooden planks between
trees
eighty feet off the ground?
no thanks, I'm going back
to the mess hall
for some of that pecan pie...
see ya at the campfire.
I drove along
the highway
the trees a green blur
outside the window
every color of candy sprinkle
unhooked from the chocolate frosting
and fell off the into my lap
I focused on the road
and the flavor - the donut still warm from the fryer.
we could hear the bear
outside the tent
the sun was just breaking
and pale yellow light was outlining
the massive fuzzy creature
I woke up sweating
it was a dream
but why is there a sleeping raccoon
next to me?
why is there trail mix all over the tent floor?
The half empty restaurant
caused the light r&b on the stereo
to bounce around the room
tinny
my forearm fit perfectly into the wooden
edge of the bar
I sipped the whiskey and
calmly thought of where I was
going to find that much money this late in the day...
The sails popped and filled with wind
after we had floated along all morning
unlucky
sitting up near the bow
you turned around, excited
the light in your eyes identical to
the first time you tasted champagne
as our boat cut through the growing waves
The tinted blue clouds
rolled over the old apple orchard
and the bright green grass
leaned over in the wind -
I decided to make some lemonade
and skim a worn book on
forestry in the 19th century
right then, the cat looked over at me and squinted...
I rang the bell - waited in the breezeway
there were no sounds
you weren't getting ready
- realized - I had
only been here once before, drunk on dark rum and colas -
wrong house wrong town
I returned to the warming sidewalk, the sun hitting me through the
palm leaves.