Reddened legs dangle over the edge of summer
feet kick in time with passing rail cars
the heat of the day soaks through your clothes
yet you shiver a little at the touch
of a cold steel tendril from a bunch of yesterdays
The daylight passes in big meaty chunks now
leaving wide charcoal grill marks
and there's a ****** spilled-syrup stickiness
that persists on a spot on your forearm
Late afternoon means a silica-sand grit
when you run your fingers through your hair
And still that heavy waterlogged boot
that you can't get a hand around
sits in the hollow of your stomach
Along the sidewalk ahead now
the trees callously toss their shadows
uselessly across weedy lawns
rather than provide an ounce of shade for your path
Oh you'll see the end of all this alright
You'll come out the other side of it all
feeling for the source of the draft
under the door
to your one room apartment
and smother it there
where it lies
with the same old tattered blanket
that you used
last year.