& then comes july

& so the calendar flips through

its usual analog clock routine:

one two three four click there’s midnight

& it’s all over

& yeah, summer never is all that different

there’s no such thing as delineation in july

you take the blur & you take

the water stains

it’s that or take your hands

thirty days of celebration is just thirty days

of hiding more than usual, of standing

around corners & behind bends

in the vain hope of avoiding all those

rainbow lights

because they’re an x-ray, you see, they’re a

smile i can’t quite hide & a slip-up

in front of my straight-backed mother

& i’m terrified all of the time

& june is no different

if it does anything at all it makes

driving downtown worse

makes all my dad's words heavier

yeah, the lights go down & everything is over

i cannot even turn to watch the parade go home

yeah, july comes sprinting & i’m covered in june’s ash

it’s like the light never draped its arms around me at all

& yet here i stand still

colorful as ever

waiting cropped & breathless in the dark