Greasy toys
Tiny hands leaving the scent of candied cheese
Apple juice drippings and animal crackers
Sticky crease catchings
This is when it's gone too far
Public as a nuisance
A retumbled coin
Losing edges
Gaining gouge
Finding its way to Coney Island
Or any boardwalk
To be turned into a commemorative curl
With swirls of what it used to be
Now a shiny speckled tribute
To a day with no date
A beveled crisp of memory
When life is like finding this
And putting a date on a day
When you've had too much coffee
And the cashiers all smile in earnest have-a-nice-dayness
When the kids are soft and smooth
And the peach pulp has been washed from their little sausage arms
When you can shock these small politicians
With such a little piece of magic
Telling them to close it in their fist
And make a wish
And the wish is a day
With a date
That makes sense
And drills down into forever
When the balloons are not as exciting
As saying goodbye to them and
When passing through the public
As a happy nuisance
You say
Excuse me
With an honest smile
And joyful presence
But don't really mean it
You mean
I love letting go
And sea glass and
Sausage arms and
Anything else that decides to rough it
Instead of withering
When public becomes grocery
And private becomes planetarium
When those wishes come true
We build the next round of surplus
And pawn it in public
With our namesakes
Opening fists
And feeling the star blanket
Cinch them up
Just a little tighter
Scribbling on photographs
That will become
Lethargic
Still
Sticky
--
5.28.09
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