Memory Indulges

hands at 10 and 12

her bare knees small

to one amused;

love-drunk as

13-year locusts

singing on the windshield

the yellow suit strap,

damp, twisted;

her sanded shoulder

apricot-round on

flattened grass,

lips like sleepy

curled leaves

a nocturnal chit-chat

of insects, other mammals;

the wind-swept water slap

at fevered limbs,

hungry fish nibbles

like skeletons scratching ankles

press of teeth to throat,

the fragrant skin smile;

an empty window witness

to their bright embrace

not meant to last;

memory indulges

an indifferent end to,

the intoxication of firsts;

reality a sooty, metallic

screen left hanging at

summer's end