There is a cough and a bark
& then a roar, and suddenly
the green night is singing.
A light rain hangs like a history,
the silver toad bus squirms stop to stop,
the street racers flick rubber kisses.
In the opposite building, a woman
undresses before watching a movie:
the rain begins to flop and hook.
A bicyclist shines and streaks down
the sleekish funnel. The moon is forgetful.
A love story is playing out on the sidewalk.
The green night cascades smokes
with sharking clouds that drift north
into Maryland with their lethal line.
The cat sleeps on my great-aunt's rug:
I am alone in this quiet. Something is dying.
I watch the rain dry on the summer road.