SHARK REEF

Swimming pool children
gleam flawless blonde smiles.
Coffee-colored daughter spirals
outward, opens her eyes
to the fearful kiss of wind

The trash bags had been outside too long.
The gray boards of the deck faded in the sun,
the steps down to the back alley blackening in the shade.

The bags were split, their contents turned

In the kitchen a stew
of chickpeas and county corn
cassia bark and chicharron
plantain yam
crumbly cheese and bitter asafoetida.

In its cocoon
the promise of the flutter,
the wind’s ride, the wings’ will.

Summer’s onslaught arrived
with a dry wind
and a sun, pounding down,
day after day.
The ground, parched,
cracked open.