Summer—
Cantaloupe and ice cream,
Beer and hot dogs dribbling mustard, relish.
Swings and sprinklers, kites in the park.
Sweat-stained nights—
Bare feet and
Twilight obsessions,
Heavy breaths and heat
He spies and plots his conquest—
Supple flesh,
Veiled temptress,
Summer dreams.

Day after day he has watched her
through her window.
And day after day
he’s planned.…

Barbecue,
Softball,
Watermelon,
She hibernates without season,
stroking the skin beneath her veil,
wondering how long to wait.

How long the hours could seem,
Dragging on and on and on.
Swarms of flies,
lemonade stands,
Now a rose or two,
and sailboats.
Sea and salt
and tanning oil.
Sandy feet
and wind chimes,
Endless days….
Shaded eyes,
Sunlight,
On and on.

Near dawn, she dons a slip and dress
and slides
into her shoes.

Carousels and popcorn,
Fun house and boardwalk,
Cotton candy,
Calliopes and
Tilt-a-whirl,
round and round.
She emerges,
knowing he will follow.

Nursery rhymes and jump ropes,
Roller skates,
Firecrackers
and yo-yos
stringing up and down.

Spying licks of hair
and plaited locks.
Second by second
straggling by with
shuffling hungry soles.

By the Ferris wheel he grabs her,
reaches for her veil,
and surely,
steadily,
the sun begins to rise,
asserts its citrus flames upon her skin,
contoured cheeks,
Acid eyes.

And he stumbles,
reels, chokes,
staggers…
breath by failing breath.

Bouncing Rubber Balls
and plastic bags,
Picnics
Large brimmed hats
and row after row of
crisp starched frocks strolling in the park.

Grass and weeds,
Wasps and hornets
skim the
body on the lawn,
all teeth,
and wasted feral flesh.

She sits by her window,
radiant, serene, ready….

Summer Fall Winter Spring Summer—
One would come again.

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(A different version, entitled, “The Radiance which Draws Them” was published in the journal, “Ellipsis” Issue 3, 1989)