Last Day

Poolside pictures
for sunny times
a palm tree
with a machete
in its side.

White curtains move like
specters in the wind
among glass doors
left wide open
to let air in.

At night they burn
dry leaves and old driftwood
buried in sand
and watch the shadows
of their hands
creep across the coastline.

This vacation from vacation
ranks low on the list of those past,
they send a flare into the sky
like a second morning star
to bring the chopper back.

It shows up after way too long
and all the ice left in the coolers
melts down
so the last drinks float
like lost boats
in the brine.