River Valley

In this valley where the old
all live like teenagers.
Their curfews break
and law comes down
like cold hail.
Bats swarm together
like a moving cloud
and yell their way
between dead trees.

In this valley the winters
melt off slowly into rain.
The grass sways like watching
elders in the erratic breeze.
The trees birth only poison fruits
that look almost just as appetizing.
Fights end only at the point
of someone’s death.
No one tries to stop them.

In this valley high school lasts forever.
The same people fight and fuck
in different combinations.
The yearly fireworks burn hollow
and the children try their best
to never see them.

In this valley we ignore the things
we cannot believe, and the stars shake
while we run away.
The parish parking lots fill like lungs
about to shout over the world.
The empty downtown
takes the wind out of it.
When it’s all over they will wonder
if they were ever really
in this place at all.