Smeared summer,
Foot’s underneath.
Whirling bathtub drain,
Never vanishing
Unlike a shooting star.
Heads tilt back,
Intense neck creases
Pleated with July
Memories.
“All of the people are out tonight.”
All the way in the back
Of the black velvet oasis.
Rounded cul-de-sac,
Neighborhood aglow,
Rings of light shine across
Jade, spinning behind
Sidewalk and streetlamp.
Curtains tossed sideways,
Windows radiate in spectrums
Of the moon.
“Do you think they will be out all night?”
Orbs shuffle,
Language ripples.
All the way in the back
Of the black velvet oasis.
Slumped ground dwellers
Gather around
The sparks and flickers
Of fox fur,
Snapping like sticks
Beneath rhythmic footwork.
“Do you think they can see us tonight?”
“I know they can.”
The navy night roars
With telescopes packed in attics
As twinkling eyes of allure
Admire the darkened kaleidoscope.
All the way in the back
Of the black velvet oasis.
