water-resistant II

wearing white and watering

the strange trees that grow sneakers

laughing a devastating laugh

I was sure that this world would end in the summer

animated heat lines ascending with a vengeance from the scorched asphalt

thickening the air as it settles

heavy in your lungs

maybe late in the season, as the earth prepares to exhale

the weight of time

hanging between one breath

laces grasping each other, holding on for dear life

over the tension of a telephone wire

marching forward

swinging

until they swing less

and stop