Weekend in the City

conversation sparks
the night. tummies
tremble with laughter.
spicy gossip dishes,
whispers of secrets and
secret love codes. inside
peeling walls of lenny’s
brownstone. brooklyn din
intrudes chatty love commune
voices heated by vodka and
distance closed between friends.
car horns from Eastern Parkway
curse dangerous tones. fire
crackers pop and retort.
our laughter sings new songs
strains against chaos that rules
the polluted air. evening shifts
in time stream hands circle
eccentric clock. night unfurls
and blue haze creeps over trees.
a lone
firecracker
pops. somewhere
a siren wails. words crawl
to buzzed lull.
heads nod in need of sleep.
empty bottle
reclines on floor. I pull
curtains to welcome morning.
siren lights
like metronome lightening.
crowd on the walk.
siren raven calls
close. man’s face
sunk in channel
of blood. leaking
from hole in head.
firecrackers retort
in skulls. paramedic wraps
head like red spotted mummy.
splotch spreads in back.
we trip. senses teeter.
oblong silent protests.
tear groans behind eyes.
red spots bleed in our heads.
we turn
into ourselves. contain
the rage to remain sane. sigh
out the screams we bury.
leave this place. lock
the doors. go out to eat.