Long Time No See

In the heat the people selling
straw bundles of time
occupy their minds
with prayers for mercy.
Kids carried off
by little lights
flicker brighter
in the blue swirl
of the night.
A pale girl stands
with her feet together
on the edge of the sidewalk
like the bow of ship
and she just might see some
shore out in the distance.
Teenage lovers
smoke amphetamines
and wake the trailer park
with noisy sex until
the law rains down
and batters in their door.
Taken to separate jails
afterward they describe
the event in lurid detail
to small captivated
crowds of cellmates
who have not seen
who they love
in way too long.