The ants like it there, appearingevery summer as a seasonal curse.Little borrowers —different from Mary Norton’s.They listen to the pleas forone more popsicle, one more game,one less storm.They stampede in small fluxesfrom the cracks in the walls,a quiet bugin a world of whirring cicadas.They are not scaredof thunder and lightning.They are not singing and swinging orpeaking, never falling.
purple patchwork dress;cool grass under small tip-toes;wet laundry, hot breeze.
Moody clouds fill in the gapsof all the newly bare trees.Clouds who look like maybethey might hold snow andthat’s good enough, hopeful enough,close enough to a promise.They are the formal invitation tomake dust of the dry, brown sculpturesthat form a leaf museumon the cool stiff ground.They do not smell the bare airso comfy to breath.They do not cryover math at a dining roomtable that squeaks.They are not trying(so hard) and wonderingwho to be.
crisp brand-new blue jeans; arm pumpkin muffins to eat;flannel sheets on beds.
The frost clingsto the warped window panes likesea creatures from a frozen world,peering in at strands of colored lightsand ornaments that danceon a towering, 6-foot plastic tree.Little window friendswho tell sugary storiesabout forthcoming snow.They watch the twirlsin a golden crown;they hear the giggles, the racing heart,the grinning cheeks.They are not enchantedby Rosemary Clooney singing so husky.They are not hopingto get snowed in.They are not the most joyously happyjust because it is freezing.
furred velvet dresses;cold air smacking barn red walls;car rides, heat cranked up.
Violetsturn fields into a Monet painting:blurs of white, purple, blue.Wildflowers for pickingon new spring days,offerings of lovefrom one so small.They are warm underthe soft yellow sun,begging to be plucked, caressed,savored.They are the harmony tothe buzzing of carpenter bees.They do not chaserainbow bubbles through the yard.They are not squealingin delight at the feelof bright warmth on skin.
lime green tee, bare arms;hot rolls for the Easter feast;windows open wide.
